Azure AI Search

Azure AI Search is Microsoft's enterprise knowledge retrieval system designed to power sophisticated retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) applications and AI agents. This comprehensive platform combines vector search, full-text search, and hybrid search capabilities in a single, scalable solution.

Key capabilities include:

• Advanced vector database with support for multivector, hybrid, multilingual, and metadata filtering
• Automated data ingestion from Azure and third-party sources with built-in parsing, chunking, and embedding
• Cutting-edge retrieval methods including reranking, query planning, and transformations that go beyond basic RAG
• Enterprise-grade security with encryption, secure authentication, and network isolation
• Seamless integrations with Azure AI Foundry, OpenAI models, and popular frameworks

The platform supports multiple file formats (Word, PDF, Excel, JSON, HTML) and data sources including Azure Cosmos DB, SQL Database, and Blob Storage. With built-in AI enrichment through cognitive skills and semantic ranking, it delivers highly relevant search results for AI applications.

Perfect for building:

• AI assistants and chatbots grounded in enterprise data
• Multimodal search engines for images, documents, and audio
• Real-time voice RAG applications
• Custom copilots and agent experiences

Azure AI Search scales from development to enterprise workloads while maintaining responsible AI practices and comprehensive compliance standards.