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AI Glossary · Last reviewed August 2026

Semantic Search

Hand-written by a real person. Reviewed against current practice in August 2026.
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Definition

Search that matches on meaning instead of exact words.

Why it matters

Semantic search understands what you mean, not just what you typed. Searching for "how to fix a slow computer" returns results about performance optimization, not pages that literally contain those exact words.

AI tools with strong semantic search deliver better results with natural language queries. This is the technology behind intelligent document search, knowledge bases, and AI-powered customer support.

How it works

3 steps
STEP 01
Query is embedded
Your search query is converted into a vector that captures its meaning, not just keywords.
STEP 02
Similarity search runs
The system compares your query vector against all stored document vectors using cosine similarity or similar metrics.
STEP 03
Top results ranked
Documents with the most similar vectors are ranked and returned, even if they use completely different words than your query.

Related terms

From the glossary
AI Agents
Prompt Engineering
Tokens
AI Models

Frequently asked questions

What is semantic search?+

Semantic search uses AI to understand the meaning and context behind a query instead of only matching keywords.

How does semantic search work?+

It uses machine learning and embeddings to identify relationships between concepts and return more relevant results.

Where is semantic search used?+

Semantic search is used in search engines, recommendation systems, knowledge bases, and AI assistants.

New to Semantic Search?

See the tools that use it.

The fastest way to understand Semantic Search is to see it inside real products. Browse hand-reviewed tools that put it to work, each one checked by a person before it was listed.

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