do i need hybrid search or just vector search?

It depends on your data and what users will type, but here’s the simple rule:

Use vector search only if:

• Queries are mostly semantic or “natural language”
• Exact keywords don’t matter much
• Your documents are relatively short or well-structured
• You want the simplest setup

Examples:

• “How do I reset my password?”
• “Documents about employee onboarding”
• “Find articles that explain photosynthesis simply”

Use hybrid search if:

• Users often search with exact terms, IDs, names, error codes, or product codes
• You need both semantic matching and keyword precision
• Your corpus has a mix of:
  • natural language
  • technical terms
  • proper nouns
  • acronyms
• Missing the exact term would be a bad result

Examples:

• “RTX 4090 overheating driver issue”
• “Policy section 4.2.1”
• “Error code E203 in Salesforce”
• “Apple M2 Max vs M3 Max”

Why hybrid is often better

Vector search is great at meaning, but it can miss:

• exact phrases
• rare entities
• numbers / codes
• brand names
• spelling-sensitive matches

Hybrid search combines:

• vector similarity for meaning
• keyword/BM25 for exact matches

That usually improves recall and makes search feel more reliable.

Practical recommendation

If you’re unsure:

• Start with hybrid search
• If your content is simple and users ask in plain language, vector-only may be enough
• If search quality matters a lot, hybrid is the safer default

Rule of thumb

• Consumer help center / FAQ → vector search often okay
• Enterprise docs / legal / technical / product catalog → hybrid search is usually better

If you want, I can give you a quick decision tree based on your specific use case.