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Hybrid search

A product search strategy that combines semantic (vector) search with keyword (BM25) search and fuses the results.

In depth

Vector search finds items by meaning: a query for 'warm jacket' surfaces insulated parkas even if the product page never uses the word 'warm'. BM25 handles exact matches like SKUs, brand names, and model numbers. Hybrid search runs both in parallel and merges results using reciprocal rank fusion, so you get the best of each.

See also

Related glossary entries

Product recommendation AI
Software that suggests relevant products to a shopper based on their intent, context, or history. In a chatbot context, the AI picks one or …
Vector search
Searching by semantic meaning using embeddings: numerical representations of text that capture meaning.
Visual search
A feature where shoppers upload a product photo and the chatbot returns the matching or closest item from the store's catalog. Works on any …
RRF (Reciprocal Rank Fusion)
An algorithm for combining the rankings from multiple search systems (e.g. keyword search + vector search) into a single ordered list. Used in hybrid …
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