Definition
Vector database
A vector database stores embeddings and retrieves the nearest matches to a query vector. It is often used for semantic search and retrieval-augmented generation, where the model needs relevant company documents before answering.
Last updated: 25 June 2026
Why it matters
It helps teams separate model choice from the retrieval layer that often determines answer quality.
Signals to watch
- Embeddings are indexed
- Nearest-neighbor search is used
- Documents are retrieved before generation