dense retrieval
The semantic half of hybrid search: a query and each candidate passage are turned into vectors by an embedding model and matched by similarity, so a paraphrase can be found. Embedding names the vector; dense retrieval names the search step those vectors exist for.
What dense retrieval means
It misses exact strings that BM25 finds, it inherits every bias of the model that made the vectors, and a passage that was chunked badly is a bad vector however well it was written.
Terms this definition uses
Hybrid search · embedding · retrieval · BM25
Definitions that name dense retrieval
Related terms in Answer engines and retrieval
How a generated answer gets made, and what your page is competing for inside it.
AEO · GEO · AI visibility score · share of voice · prompt set · brand mention · RAG · grounding · training data · embedding · chunking · context window · token · hallucination · refusal · AI Overview · answer engine · citation · retrieval · hallucinated attribution · Hybrid search · Re-ranking · Passage ranking · Query fan-out · Chunk boundary · BM25 · cross-encoder · AI Mode · information gain
Questions about dense retrieval
What is dense retrieval?
The semantic half of hybrid search: a query and each candidate passage are turned into vectors by an embedding model and matched by similarity, so a paraphrase can be found. Embedding names the vector; dense retrieval names the search step those vectors exist for.
Which area of the glossary does dense retrieval belong to?
Answer engines and retrieval: How a generated answer gets made, and what your page is competing for inside it.
See it in the full glossary · 772 terms across 19 areas.
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