Custom proximity search, a new feature in SQL Server 2012 Full-Text Search, is facilitated using the NEAR operator.

At Build 2025, Microsoft announced the public preview of SQL Server 2025. SQL Server 2025 now has AI directly integrated into the database engine for improved search.

Microsoft is introducing other capabilities to SQL Server 2025 to facilitate the development of AI-based applications, including JSON support, a Python driver, and change event streaming.

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