Your Guide to Vectorizing Structured Text

The blog post explores the use of vector databases for semantically searching structured or semi-structured data, offering guidance on when such an approach is beneficial. It advises that if data contains latent semantic meaning or if traditional databases are insufficient for answering specific queries, vectorization should be considered. The post distinguishes between structured, unstructured, and semi-structured data, clarifying common misconceptions about semantic and hybrid search techniques. A key experiment compared various vectorization strategies to determine which yields the most relevant search results in a Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) application, focusing on transforming tabular data from a PDF into vectors. The findings suggest that while semantic searches over structured data can benefit from adding contextual information, simpler strategies like combining row and header data may suffice. The post concludes that a minimal intervention approach might be effective initially, recommending more complex strategies only if initial results are unsatisfactory.