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Embeddings & Search
What is a Vector?
A vector is a list of numbers. Think of it like GPS coordinates, just as two locations can be close or far on a map, two vectors can be close or far in meaning.
Known words use preset semantic positions that group similar meanings together. Unknown words get a character-based estimate.
Interactive Playground
Section 1 Text to Vector
Vector:
Statistics
Dim 1
Dim 2
Dim 3
3
Dimensions
What is a Vector?
e.g. "cat" as a 4-D vector:
0.8
animal
−0.3
size
0.6
furry
0.1
speed
Real vectors have hundreds of dimensions. AI learns what each number means during training, you don't set them manually.
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Tips
2 tips
You never write the numbers yourself, an embedding model converts your text to a vector automatically.
Similar meanings → similar vectors → small angle between them. This is the entire idea behind semantic search.
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Key Takeaway
AI often turns information into numbers so computers can compare, sort, and find similar things.