**full-text search** is based on literal matches of words and their variations but does not investigate the meaning of the query for which the user would like an answer.
- “The cat chased the dog”
- “The dog chased the cat”
For example, in the two sentences above, the **full-text search** doesn’t do the correct search. If the user searches “The cat chased the dog,” then the user gets these two sentences because this type of search filters by matching words but doesn’t understand the semantic meaning of the sentences.
What is semantic search?
It is a type of search that allows to understand the meaning of the user’s query and retrieve the correct data based on it.
It is possible to query the database in natural language: it understands the semantics behind the query and returns meaningful results.