AI Glossary Term
What does “Semantic Search” mean?
Definition
Search that matches meaning rather than exact keyword overlap, often using embeddings.
How Semantic Search works
Example
A user searches a help center for 'cancel my plan' and gets an article titled 'Ending your subscription', even though no words match. The system matched on meaning using embeddings.
Why it matters
Semantic search finds relevant results even when wording differs. It can also return near-misses, so many systems combine it with keyword search.
Common questions
How does it work?
Text is converted to embeddings, and the system returns items whose vectors are closest to the query's vector.
What are its weaknesses?
It can miss exact terms like product codes and sometimes returns loosely related items.
Semantic vs hybrid search?
Hybrid search blends semantic and keyword methods to get the benefits of both.