ITG NowHome › AI glossary › Embeddings
What are embeddings?
Embeddings are lists of numbers that stand for the meaning of text, images or other data so a computer can compare them.
- Category Models
- Also called embedding, vector embedding
- Updated 20 Oct 2026
Embeddings, explained simply
A computer can't read meaning directly. An embedding turns a sentence into numbers, so similar ideas get similar numbers.
That lets software find things by meaning, not just exact words. A search for cheap flights can find a page about low-cost airlines.
Embeddings power smart search, recommendations and tools that chat with your documents.
On ITG Now, our free tool guides mention embeddings when a tool lets you search or chat with your own files.
Related terms
Vector databaseSemantic searchRAGTokenAI memoryLLM
Where you'll see it on ITG Now
Questions people ask about Embeddings
What are embeddings used for?
They help with search by meaning, recommendations and finding similar items.
Do I need embeddings to use a chatbot?
No. They matter when you build search or document chat on top of a model.