diff --git a/lib/class-wp-rest-search-controller.php b/lib/class-wp-rest-search-controller.php
index 2f9d237309ae7b..5f89d74914e71e 100644
--- a/lib/class-wp-rest-search-controller.php
+++ b/lib/class-wp-rest-search-controller.php
@@ -281,20 +281,20 @@ public function prepare_item_for_response( $post, $request ) {
 
 		setup_postdata( $post );
 
-		$schema = $this->get_item_schema();
+		$fields = $this->get_fields_for_response( $request );
 
 		// Base fields for every post.
 		$data = array();
 
-		if ( ! empty( $schema['properties']['id'] ) ) {
+		if ( in_array( 'id', $fields, true ) ) {
 			$data['id'] = $post->ID;
 		}
 
-		if ( ! empty( $schema['properties']['date'] ) ) {
+		if ( in_array( 'date', $fields, true ) ) {
 			$data['date'] = $this->prepare_date_response( $post->post_date_gmt, $post->post_date );
 		}
 
-		if ( ! empty( $schema['properties']['date_gmt'] ) ) {
+		if ( in_array( 'date_gmt', $fields, true ) ) {
 			// For drafts, `post_date_gmt` may not be set, indicating that the
 			// date of the draft should be updated each time it is saved (see
 			// #38883).  In this case, shim the value based on the `post_date`
@@ -307,7 +307,7 @@ public function prepare_item_for_response( $post, $request ) {
 			$data['date_gmt'] = $this->prepare_date_response( $post_date_gmt );
 		}
 
-		if ( ! empty( $schema['properties']['guid'] ) ) {
+		if ( in_array( 'guid', $fields, true ) ) {
 			$data['guid'] = array(
 				/** This filter is documented in wp-includes/post-template.php */
 				'rendered' => apply_filters( 'get_the_guid', $post->guid, $post->ID ),
@@ -315,11 +315,11 @@ public function prepare_item_for_response( $post, $request ) {
 			);
 		}
 
-		if ( ! empty( $schema['properties']['modified'] ) ) {
+		if ( in_array( 'modified', $fields, true ) ) {
 			$data['modified'] = $this->prepare_date_response( $post->post_modified_gmt, $post->post_modified );
 		}
 
-		if ( ! empty( $schema['properties']['modified_gmt'] ) ) {
+		if ( in_array( 'modified_gmt', $fields, true ) ) {
 			// For drafts, `post_modified_gmt` may not be set (see
 			// `post_date_gmt` comments above).  In this case, shim the value
 			// based on the `post_modified` field with the site's timezone
@@ -332,23 +332,23 @@ public function prepare_item_for_response( $post, $request ) {
 			$data['modified_gmt'] = $this->prepare_date_response( $post_modified_gmt );
 		}
 
-		if ( ! empty( $schema['properties']['slug'] ) ) {
+		if ( in_array( 'slug', $fields, true ) ) {
 			$data['slug'] = $post->post_name;
 		}
 
-		if ( ! empty( $schema['properties']['status'] ) ) {
+		if ( in_array( 'status', $fields, true ) ) {
 			$data['status'] = $post->post_status;
 		}
 
-		if ( ! empty( $schema['properties']['type'] ) ) {
+		if ( in_array( 'type', $fields, true ) ) {
 			$data['type'] = $post->post_type;
 		}
 
-		if ( ! empty( $schema['properties']['link'] ) ) {
+		if ( in_array( 'link', $fields, true ) ) {
 			$data['link'] = get_permalink( $post->ID );
 		}
 
-		if ( ! empty( $schema['properties']['title'] ) ) {
+		if ( in_array( 'title', $fields, true ) ) {
 			if ( post_type_supports( $post->post_type, 'title' ) ) {
 				add_filter( 'protected_title_format', array( $this, 'protected_title_format' ) );
 
@@ -366,7 +366,7 @@ public function prepare_item_for_response( $post, $request ) {
 			}
 		}
 
-		if ( ! empty( $schema['properties']['content'] ) ) {
+		if ( in_array( 'content', $fields, true ) ) {
 			if ( post_type_supports( $post->post_type, 'editor' ) ) {
 				/** This filter is documented in wp-includes/post-template.php */
 				$content         = apply_filters( 'the_content', $post->post_content );
@@ -384,7 +384,7 @@ public function prepare_item_for_response( $post, $request ) {
 			}
 		}
 
-		if ( ! empty( $schema['properties']['excerpt'] ) ) {
+		if ( in_array( 'excerpt', $fields, true ) ) {
 			if ( post_type_supports( $post->post_type, 'excerpt' ) ) {
 				/** This filter is documented in wp-includes/post-template.php */
 				$excerpt         = apply_filters( 'the_excerpt', apply_filters( 'get_the_excerpt', $post->post_excerpt, $post ) );
@@ -402,7 +402,7 @@ public function prepare_item_for_response( $post, $request ) {
 			}
 		}
 
-		if ( ! empty( $schema['properties']['author'] ) ) {
+		if ( in_array( 'author', $fields, true ) ) {
 			if ( post_type_supports( $post->post_type, 'author' ) ) {
 				$data['author'] = (int) $post->post_author;
 			} else {