{
  "definition": "A method for splitting larger content into smaller units that can be indexed, retrieved, embedded, passed to a model, or otherwise processed.",
  "derivedRelations": [
    {
      "note": "Query segmentation splits a short query into meaningful spans; chunking usually splits larger content into retrievable or processable units.",
      "target": "query-segmentation",
      "type": "notEquivalentTo"
    },
    {
      "target": "query-segmentation",
      "type": "related"
    }
  ],
  "distinctions": [
    {
      "reason": "Chunking decides the units to represent; embedding is the representation of a unit.",
      "statement": "Chunking is not Embedding.",
      "target": "embedding",
      "targetLabel": "Embedding",
      "targetUri": "https://id.searchplex.net/embedding/"
    },
    {
      "reason": "Chunking creates passage-like units; passage retrieval retrieves such units for a query or information need.",
      "statement": "Chunking is not Passage Retrieval.",
      "target": "passage-retrieval",
      "targetLabel": "Passage Retrieval",
      "targetUri": "https://id.searchplex.net/passage-retrieval/"
    },
    {
      "reason": "Chunking is one design choice inside many RAG systems; RAG is the broader retrieval-augmented generation pattern.",
      "statement": "Chunking is not Retrieval-Augmented Generation.",
      "target": "rag",
      "targetLabel": "Retrieval-Augmented Generation",
      "targetUri": "https://id.searchplex.net/rag/"
    },
    {
      "reason": "Chunking creates or selects retrievable units; retrieval selects relevant units from an indexed collection.",
      "statement": "Chunking is not Retrieval.",
      "target": "retrieval",
      "targetLabel": "Retrieval",
      "targetUri": "https://id.searchplex.net/retrieval/"
    }
  ],
  "id": "chunking",
  "kind": "Method",
  "license": "https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/",
  "links": [
    {
      "label": "Chunking strategies for LLM applications",
      "type": "officialHomepage",
      "url": "https://www.pinecone.io/learn/chunking-strategies/"
    }
  ],
  "modifiedAt": "2026-09-14T06:43:46Z",
  "prefLabel": "Chunking",
  "publisher": {
    "name": "Searchplex",
    "url": "https://searchplex.net/"
  },
  "relations": [
    {
      "note": "Chunking decides the units to represent; embedding is the representation of a unit.",
      "target": "embedding",
      "type": "notEquivalentTo"
    },
    {
      "note": "Chunking creates passage-like units; passage retrieval retrieves such units for a query or information need.",
      "target": "passage-retrieval",
      "type": "notEquivalentTo"
    },
    {
      "note": "Chunking is one design choice inside many RAG systems; RAG is the broader retrieval-augmented generation pattern.",
      "target": "rag",
      "type": "notEquivalentTo"
    },
    {
      "note": "Chunking creates or selects retrievable units; retrieval selects relevant units from an indexed collection.",
      "target": "retrieval",
      "type": "notEquivalentTo"
    },
    {
      "target": "candidate-retrieval",
      "type": "related"
    },
    {
      "target": "embedding",
      "type": "related"
    },
    {
      "target": "passage-retrieval",
      "type": "related"
    },
    {
      "target": "rag",
      "type": "related"
    },
    {
      "target": "retrieval",
      "type": "related"
    }
  ],
  "representations": {
    "html": "https://id.searchplex.net/chunking/",
    "json": "https://id.searchplex.net/chunking.json",
    "jsonld": "https://id.searchplex.net/chunking.jsonld"
  },
  "scheme": "https://id.searchplex.net/scheme/",
  "scopeNote": "In RAG and search systems, chunking defines candidate units such as passages, sections, windows, or semantic segments. It influences retrieval quality but is not itself retrieval, ranking, or embedding.",
  "status": "published",
  "uri": "https://id.searchplex.net/chunking/"
}