AI Glossary · Definition
What is Vector database?
Vector database: A vector database stores embeddings and finds the items most similar in meaning to a query very quickly.
By DAIDU EditorialUpdated
Vector database, explained
Traditional databases match exact values. Vector databases match by similarity, which is what you need when a question is phrased differently from the document that answers it. They are a core part of most RAG systems: documents are split into passages, each passage is turned into an embedding and stored, and at question time the most similar passages are retrieved. Options range from dedicated products to extensions of familiar databases such as PostgreSQL.
Example
A consultancy stores embeddings of 2,000 past proposals so staff can find similar previous work by describing a new client's problem.