Retrieval
What is semantic search?
Semantic search ranks items by meaning, using embeddings, not only by exact keyword match.
Updated
How it works
- The query and the stored pieces are embedded with the same model.
- Nearest neighbors are the hits.
- Keyword search can still sit beside it when exact tokens matter.
What it is not
It is not full-text search, and it is not listing files by name.
semantic search: this, and the thing it is confused with
| This | Not this | |
|---|---|---|
| Matches | Similar meaning | Exact words only |
| Misses | A paraphrase, if you only have keywords | A filename |
| Needs | An embedding model and an index | An inverted word index alone |
Where Pixeltable fits
Pixeltable expresses it as column.similarity(...) on a column that has an embedding index.
Questions
How does semantic search work?
The query and the stored pieces are embedded with the same model. Nearest neighbors are the hits. Keyword search can still sit beside it when exact tokens matter.
What is semantic search often confused with?
It is not full-text search, and it is not listing files by name.
Next step
Install the Pixeltable skill, or sign up for Cloud and run the same file on a hosted database.