Introducing User-Defined Functions for Vectara

Vectara has introduced user-defined sorting functions, allowing users to customize the ranking of search results based on factors beyond textual relevance, such as recency, price, or product ratings. This functionality is particularly beneficial for integrating legacy search applications and offers greater control over search result ordering while potentially reducing costs associated with large language models (LLMs). Users can override default ranking functions by providing custom functions that access document metadata and Vectara relevance scores, enabling sorting by various criteria like price or review scores. These reranking capabilities occur before results are sent for retrieval-augmented generation, allowing users to influence the information considered by generative models and avoid outdated data. Vectara encourages users to explore these new capabilities and share feedback through their community platforms.