{"id":21026,"date":"2025-05-12T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-12T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crazyeggblog.wpengine.com\/?p=21026"},"modified":"2025-05-12T15:07:17","modified_gmt":"2025-05-12T19:07:17","slug":"everything-about-semantic-search","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crazyegg.com\/blog\/everything-about-semantic-search\/","title":{"rendered":"Semantic Search in Plain English: What You Need to Know"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Search is no longer just about matching the exact words you type.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Modern search engines aim to understand what you mean, not just what you say. That shift is thanks to something called semantic search.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s what helps Google, ChatGPT, and even basic site search tools deliver more relevant, meaningful results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this guide, we\u2019ll break down what semantic search is and why it matters\u2014no jargon, no coding, just plain English.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Does \u201cSemantic\u201d Mean?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The word semantic<\/em> is all about meaning. More specifically, semantics is the field most concerned with how machines understand the meaning of words we use and how these words relate to each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Dictionary<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s easy to personify machines and think<\/em> they understand words like we do. But they don\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Humans can easily understand that the words cat, car, and cap are unrelated. But a lot needs to happen for a machine to develop that same understanding. Until then, all three of these words are strings of characters that begin in the exact same way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a really important distinction for search engines to be able to make because it\u2019s how they\u2019re able to show results that make more sense to humans. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is Semantic Search?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Semantic search is a method of retrieving documents and information that is not based on matching the exact words a searcher used in their query. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rather, it is about understanding the searcher\u2019s intent and meaning behind what they\u2019re looking for and either providing the answer they\u2019re seeking directly or getting them one step closer to the ideal solution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, if you search for something like \u201c5cm to inches\u201d what\u2019s more helpful?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Results like this, that try to match the words in your query to available webpages:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Google<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Or results like this that adapt their design based on the inferred meaning of the query (to do a calculation)?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Google<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

To be clear, the calculator Google adds to search results does not make it semantic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, the algorithm\u2019s ability to understand that the intent behind the query is to perform a calculation is what\u2019s semantic. It understands the meaning of the query and shows more relevant results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Semantic Search vs Traditional Search<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For a long time, most search engines worked by matching the exact words you searched for to documents they found on the internet. It\u2019s a bit like how Google Scholar works today:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Google<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This method of retrieving information or documents is called \u201clexical search\u201d because it relies on the exact words used and will only show documents that mention those words.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Semantic search, on the other hand, is more liberal with how it matches what a user looks for with the documents it can return. It tries to understand the meaning behind the words searched. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, Google Scholar returned a bunch of articles about the exact condition known as \u201cliver disease\u201d. But the top-ranking article on Google (also the top-cited article in the AI Overviews section) is about \u201cliver problems\u201d more generally:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Google<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The results also mention and highlight connected conditions like cirrhosis and liver failure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the case of cirrhosis, there\u2019s no \u201clexical\u201d (or word-based) similarity to \u201cliver disease\u201d which is why old school search engines would not typically display results about it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But there is a meaning-based connection. Cirrhosis is a closely connected concept to liver disease and that\u2019s why modern search engines that take a semantic approach can show information about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Semantic Search Works (In Plain English)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

So, in a nutshell, semantic search works by figuring out what you mean and then finding the most relevant results based on that meaning, not just the words you typed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it sounds a lot simpler than it actually is. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Modern search systems rely on a mix of techniques that help them interpret language more like a human would. Here are a few key ingredients that make it work:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Natural language processing (NLP)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Natural language processing is a field in computer science that teaches machines to read, interpret, and generate human language. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s been around since the 1950s, and it now sits under the umbrella of artificial intelligence and machine learning. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some major tasks that NLP can help with are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n