Elasticsearch 8.0 adds HNSW-based approximate kNN search as a technical preview
Introduced HNSW-based approximate kNN search in Elasticsearch 8.0 as a technical preview
Why it matters
The point at which existing search engines began absorbing vector search. The starting point of the consolidation debate over whether a dedicated vector DB is needed
Source — Primary sources first; secondary reports are labelled “Press”
Officialelastic.cohttps://www.elastic.co/blog/introducing-approximate-nearest-neighbor-search-in-elasticsearch-8-0Added in Week 35, 2026 · See that week