Semantic Router
A system that routes user queries to appropriate handlers based on semantic meaning rather than keyword matching. It directs traffic in AI applications.
Why It Matters
Semantic routing reduces latency and cost by sending simple queries to fast/cheap models and complex queries to powerful/expensive ones.
Example
Routing 'What time do you close?' to a FAQ lookup, 'Explain quantum computing' to a large LLM, and 'Book a flight' to an agent with tool access.
Think of it like...
Like a hospital triage nurse who directs patients to the right specialist based on their symptoms — minor issues go to urgent care, complex cases to specialists.
Related Terms
Orchestration
The coordination and management of multiple AI components, tools, and services to accomplish complex workflows. Orchestration handles routing, sequencing, error handling, and resource allocation.
Embedding
A numerical representation of data (text, images, etc.) as a vector of numbers in a high-dimensional space. Similar items are placed closer together in this space, enabling machines to understand semantic relationships.
Classification
A type of supervised learning task where the model predicts which category or class an input belongs to. The output is a discrete label rather than a continuous value.
AI Agent
An AI system that can autonomously plan, reason, and take actions to accomplish goals. Unlike simple chatbots, agents can use tools, make decisions, execute multi-step workflows, and adapt their approach based on results.