What is Embedding?
An embedding is a numerical representation of data -- such as text, images, or audio -- expressed as a list of numbers (a vector) that captures the meaning and relationships within that data. Embeddings allow AI systems to understand similarity and context, powering applications like search, recommendations, and classification.
What Is an Embedding?
An embedding is a way of representing complex information as a list of numbers that a computer can work with. When an AI system creates an embedding of a sentence, a product description, or an image, it transforms that data into a numerical format -- called a vector -- that captures the essence of what that data means.
Think of it like a GPS coordinate for meaning. Just as GPS coordinates place a physical location on a map, an embedding places a piece of data on a "map of meaning." Items with similar meanings end up close together on this map, while unrelated items are far apart. The sentence "I need a ride to the airport" and "Can you drive me to the terminal" would have embeddings that are very close together, even though they use completely different words.
How Embeddings Work
The process of creating embeddings involves running data through a specially trained AI model called an embedding model. These models have learned from vast amounts of data to assign numerical values that reflect relationships and meaning.
A typical text embedding might contain 768 to 1,536 numbers. Each number represents a dimension of meaning -- one might relate to sentiment, another to topic, another to formality, and so on. No single number means much on its own, but together they create a rich representation of the input.
Key properties of embeddings:
- Similar inputs produce similar vectors: Two product descriptions for running shoes will have embeddings closer together than a running shoe description and a laptop description
- Relationships are preserved: The mathematical relationship between "king" and "queen" in embedding space is similar to the relationship between "man" and "woman"
- Language-agnostic potential: Good multilingual embedding models place the same concept in similar positions regardless of the language used, which is particularly valuable for ASEAN businesses operating across multiple languages
Business Applications
Embeddings are the invisible engine behind many AI features that business leaders interact with daily:
Semantic Search Instead of requiring customers or employees to guess the right keywords, embedding-powered search understands the intent behind queries. A customer searching for "something to keep my drink cold" can find insulated bottles, cooler bags, and ice packs -- even if none of those product titles contain the exact words used in the search.
Customer Support Automation When a customer submits a support ticket, embeddings can instantly match it against a knowledge base of previously resolved issues, surfacing the most relevant solutions and reducing resolution time.
Content Recommendations E-commerce and media companies use embeddings to recommend products or content based on meaningful similarity rather than simple category matching, significantly improving engagement and conversion rates.
Document Classification Automatically sorting documents, emails, or feedback into categories based on their actual content rather than keyword rules, improving accuracy and reducing manual effort.
Embedding Models for Business Use
Several embedding models are available, ranging from free open-source options to premium commercial services:
- OpenAI text-embedding-3: A commercial offering known for strong performance across languages, available through API with pay-per-use pricing
- Google Vertex AI embeddings: Integrated with Google Cloud, convenient for teams already using Google's ecosystem
- Cohere Embed: Strong multilingual support, relevant for businesses operating across ASEAN languages
- Open-source models: Options like BGE, E5, and multilingual-e5 that can be run on your own infrastructure for greater data control and lower per-query costs
Practical Guidance for Southeast Asian Businesses
For companies in Southeast Asia, multilingual embedding quality is a critical consideration. If your business serves customers in Thai, Bahasa Indonesia, Vietnamese, and English, you need an embedding model that performs well across all these languages. Test models specifically on your language mix before committing.
Cost is generally modest. Embedding API calls are significantly cheaper than generative AI calls. OpenAI's embedding API, for example, costs a fraction of a cent per query. Even processing millions of documents typically costs less than USD 50. The larger cost consideration is storing and querying the resulting vectors, which requires a vector database.
Start by embedding your most valuable data assets -- product catalogs, customer support knowledge bases, or internal documentation -- and use them to power one specific application. This focused approach lets you demonstrate value quickly before expanding to broader use cases.
Embeddings are the foundational technology that enables AI to understand meaning and similarity in your business data. They power the intelligent search, recommendation, and classification features that customers increasingly expect, and they are essential for connecting AI tools to your company's proprietary knowledge and content.
- Choose an embedding model with strong multilingual support if your business operates across multiple ASEAN markets, and test it specifically on your language mix before committing
- Embedding creation is a one-time cost per document, but storing and querying embeddings requires a vector database -- plan and budget for both components together
- Keep your embeddings up to date by re-embedding content when it changes significantly, as stale embeddings will return outdated or irrelevant results in your AI applications
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between an embedding and a vector?
A vector is simply a list of numbers -- it is a mathematical concept. An embedding is a specific type of vector that has been created by an AI model to represent the meaning of a piece of data. All embeddings are vectors, but not all vectors are embeddings. When people in AI discussions use these terms, they are usually referring to the same thing: the numerical representation that an AI model produces from your data.
Do embeddings work well with Southeast Asian languages?
Modern multilingual embedding models handle major Southeast Asian languages including Thai, Vietnamese, Bahasa Indonesia, Malay, and Tagalog with reasonable quality. However, performance can vary by language and by the specific embedding model used. For business-critical applications, test your chosen model with real data in your target languages before deploying. Models from providers like Cohere and OpenAI have invested significantly in multilingual quality.
More Questions
Creating embeddings is surprisingly affordable. Using OpenAI's embedding API, you can process approximately one million words of text for under USD 1. Even large document libraries with hundreds of thousands of pages can be embedded for modest costs. The ongoing expense comes from storing these embeddings in a vector database and running queries against them, which typically costs USD 70-300 per month for SMB-scale workloads.
Need help implementing Embedding?
Pertama Partners helps businesses across Southeast Asia adopt AI strategically. Let's discuss how embedding fits into your AI roadmap.