Vector databases offer a promising solution, leveraging the power of vector embeddings to organize and query data in a manner that aligns with the complexity of certain datasets. In this post, we will explore what vector databases are, their capabilities, and the transformative potential they have for various industries in need of scalable, high-performance data management solutions.
What Are Vector Databases?
Before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s define the term vector database. In simplest terms, a vector database is a type of database that stores data in a mathematical representation, a “multi-dimensional vector”. These vectors can have varying dimensions depending on the data’s complexity and granularity and can represent anything from text to images or unstructured data.
Typically, these vectors are created by applying transformation or embedding functions to raw data, including text, images, audio, and video. Vector embeddings capture semantic information within data that is necessary for querying and completing complex tasks using AI. Once data is transformed into vectors, they are positioned in the vector field according to likeness, with similar items close in proximity to one another.
This proximity property of vector embeddings aids in creating faster and more accurate search results when querying a database. A vector database allows for more flexibility in search prompts to surface the most relevant or similar data based on context and meaning, rather than exact matches.
How Do We Use Vector Databases?
With the widespread rise in artificial intelligence and machine learning technology, vector databases have gained prominence and popularity due to their well-suited capabilities. Vector databases are beneficial across a wide range of applications that involve complex datasets: from machine learning to natural language processing, computer vision, recommendation systems, and even LLMs. Most commonly, vector databases are used for visual, semantic, and multimodal search use cases.
Those sound like complex applications, but truthfully, we interact with many of these on a day-to-day basis. Take image classification for example; anyone who scrolls through recipes, home inspiration, or DIY projects on Pinterest has seen image classification first-hand. Pins often lack descriptions, but a vector database can transform each unique image into a high-dimensional vector, allowing similar images to populate as suggestions. This has benefitted Pinterest by facilitating content discovery and increasing user engagement.
Consider a different example: chatbots. Whether it’s seeking customer support, canceling a subscription, or trying (unsuccessfully) to log in to an online account, most of us have interacted with chatbots at some point or another. You may be surprised to learn that vector databases are often the foundation for chatbot technology. Most chatbots work by recognizing keywords and identifying relevant response options based on semantic similarity; this is why a prompt like, “change my login” may cause the chatbot to reply with a link “how to reset your password” even without exact phrasing.
In the same way vector databases excel in search and retrieval, they are also highly proficient in generating suggestions based on similarity. This is the basis for recommendation algorithms in our beloved streaming platforms. As we’ve seen, vector databases accelerate the understanding of similarities between complex data types. For a video streaming platform, the mountains of data– everything from genre to actors, to user reviews– are converted into vectors that enable instant, personalized media suggestions. It is largely the same process for music streaming platforms, with vectors representing genre, rhythm, melody, and instrumentals. And each new time you press “play” on a show or a song, new vectors are being formed, the database expanding its understanding of your preferences and tailoring its recommendations as a result.
The above examples are readily observable in everyday experiences, but the wide-reaching business applications of Vector Databases are playing out in significant ways in other industries such as healthcare and finance. Vector databases play a crucial role in fraud detection for many financial institutions; user transaction history reveals patterns that are represented by vectors to quickly and effectively identify abnormal activity and alert for potential fraud.
Another crucial role for vector databases is in the healthcare industry, where this technology is enabling medical professionals to improve accuracy in diagnosis and speed in recommending treatment options. Vector databases empower more efficient retrieval and representation of patient data– such as genetics, symptoms, family medical history & more– thus, preserving precious time patients spend seeking accurate diagnoses and speedy medical intervention.
As you have learned from the use cases detailed above, many prominent companies have already harnessed the power of vector databases to enable, enhance, or optimize their businesses. A vector database opens a treasure trove of technological opportunities and can enable your business to tackle tough problems related to customer retention & engagement, fraud detection, and search efficiency.
How to Identify if Your Business Needs a Vector Database?
While the benefits of vector databases are undeniable, the solution is not one-size-fits-all. Before you dive head-first into building a vector database for your business, it is important to think long-term about your organization’s strategic objectives and what you hope to accomplish. Below are some questions to consider before developing your first vector database:
- Do I have a Large Language Model that needs auxiliary storage?
Embeddings with LLMs can use vector databases for storage and retrieval, creating fast and accurate AI agents through the use of Retrieval Augmented Generation. For more information, read this post here.
- Do I need to generate embeddings?
Many data types, such as text, require careful decision-making during the embedding process. Tasks like document segmentation can make or break vector representation and search.
- Is speed an important factor when querying embeddings?
With vector databases, blazingly fast speed and high accuracy are always in conflict. Striking the right balance for your use case is key to ensuring proper results.
- What about search results? Do I need better search results than what I am currently retrieving?
Vector databases use semantic search, focusing on context to improve search results beyond pure matching. This semantic content allows vector databases to perform single query multi-modal search across many data types: text, vector, image, audio, visual, geographical, or unstructured.
- Is my collection of embeddings dynamic or growing?
It is important to consider how often new information becomes relevant and old information loses its usefulness. Maintaining an up-to-date vector database can greatly improve retrieval.
Successfully implementing a vector database requires careful consideration of your specific business needs, data types, and performance requirements. They present a powerful solution for organizations grappling with complex, unstructured data across various domains.
If you’re interested in exploring how vector databases can help your organization create a scalable, high-performance data management solution, reach out to an expert on our team to schedule a brief call. Take the first step towards optimizing your data management and unleashing new levels of innovation.
Resources:
- Elastic search (product)
- What are Vector Databases?
- Use Cases
- Pinecone: What are Vector Databases
- AI in Healthcare