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The hidden danger that kills search products

softwaredoug.com · 1,165 words · saved by 1 readers

Having seen search solutions birthed (and die) since 2012, I have to warn you: there be dragons! What was a nice niche (good site search) with a meaty, but defined market (big e-commerce, job search, etc companies), now has exploded with AI and RAG. I’m often asked how to think about the “vector DB” and adjacent space by investors, product companies, and customers. There’s a range of companies: some provide components targeting developers - just the search engine / vector DB. Others sell the full solution of “good search” for your RAG, etc app. Just give us your data and set a few things up, you get great, relevant search results for your product. Or so it’s promised. I want to focus on this latter area - the temptation to “solve search” with your product, only to end up humbled by the amount of custom, per-customer work you’ll need to take on. Solution providers face a major challenge - the complete invisibility and subjectivity of “relevant search”. Customers don’t see the algorithmi

Having seen search solutions birthed (and die) since 2012, I have to warn you: there be dragons! What was a nice niche (good site search) with a meaty, but defined market (big e-commerce, job search, etc companies), now has exploded with AI and RAG. I’m often asked how to think about the “vector DB” and adjacent space by investors, product companies, and customers. There’s a range of companies: some provide components targeting developers - just the search engine / vector DB. Others sell the full solution of “good search” for your RAG, etc app. Just give us your data and set a few things up, y

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