How AI Search Works
Understanding Housal's hybrid search technology
What is AI Search?
Housal uses hybrid AI search that combines two powerful technologies:
Semantic Search (70%)
Understands the meaning of your query. When you search for "affordable family home," it finds properties described as "budget-friendly 4BR house."
Keyword Search (30%)
Matches exact words in your query. Ensures important terms like "BGC" or "3BR" are always found in results.
How It Works
You Search
Type your query naturally: "Can foreigners buy property in the Philippines?"
AI Analyzes
Our AI converts your query into a mathematical representation (768-dimensional vector) that captures semantic meaning.
Parallel Search
Simultaneously runs semantic search (finds similar meanings) and keyword search (finds exact terms).
Smart Ranking
Results are ranked by combining scores: 70% semantic similarity + 30% keyword match. Items found in both searches rank highest.
You Get Results
Relevant FAQs, properties, and guides appear in < 500ms with accuracy scores.
Why Hybrid Search?
Understands Synonyms
"Cheap" finds "affordable," "economical," "budget-friendly"
Never Misses Exact Terms
Important keywords like "BGC" or "3BR" always match
Context-Aware
Understands "family home near schools" contextually
Learns Over Time
Tracks searches to identify popular queries and content gaps
Important Limitations
AI is Not Always 100% Accurate
While our AI is highly accurate (77-81% for queries found in both searches), it can occasionally misinterpret queries or return less relevant results.
✅ Always verify property details with sellers or agents before making decisions.
Only as Good as Our Data
AI search only finds content we've indexed. If we don't have information about something, the AI can't magically create it.
Not Legal or Financial Advice
AI search results are for informational purposes only. Consult professionals for legal, financial, or investment advice.
Our Technology
Housal's AI search is built with:
- •pgvector: PostgreSQL extension for vector similarity search
- •Ollama: Local LLM for generating 768-dimensional embeddings
- •PostgreSQL: Self-hosted database (no cloud vendor lock-in)
- •Infrastructure-agnostic: Runs anywhere, no external dependencies
💡 Cost: $0/month in API fees. All AI processing happens locally on our servers.
⚠️ AI-Powered Search
This response is generated by AI and may not be 100% accurate. Always verify property details directly with sellers or agents before making decisions.
Learn how AI search works