UniDex: Rethinking Search Inverted Indexing with Unified Semantic Modeling

• URL: http://arxiv.org/abs/2509.24632v1
• Date: Mon, 29 Sep 2025 11:41:12 GMT
• Title: UniDex: Rethinking Search Inverted Indexing with Unified Semantic Modeling
• Authors: Zan Li, Jiahui Chen, Yuan Chai, Xiaoze Jiang, Xiaohua Qi, Zhiheng Qin, Runbin Zhou, Shun Zuo, Guangchao Hao, Kefeng Wang, Jingshan Lv, Yupeng Huang, Xiao Liang, Han Li,
• Abstract summary: Inverted indexing has traditionally been a cornerstone of modern search systems, leveraging exact term matches to determine relevance between queries and documents.<n>We propose UniDex, a novel model-based method that employs unified semantic modeling to revolutionize inverted indexing.<n>Our approach involves two key components: UniTouch, which maps queries and documents into semantic IDs for improved retrieval, and UniRank, which employs semantic matching to rank results effectively.
• Score: 13.460255805106124
• License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Abstract: Inverted indexing has traditionally been a cornerstone of modern search systems, leveraging exact term matches to determine relevance between queries and documents. However, this term-based approach often emphasizes surface-level token overlap, limiting the system's generalization capabilities and retrieval effectiveness. To address these challenges, we propose UniDex, a novel model-based method that employs unified semantic modeling to revolutionize inverted indexing. UniDex replaces complex manual designs with a streamlined architecture, enhancing semantic generalization while reducing maintenance overhead. Our approach involves two key components: UniTouch, which maps queries and documents into semantic IDs for improved retrieval, and UniRank, which employs semantic matching to rank results effectively. Through large-scale industrial datasets and real-world online traffic assessments, we demonstrate that UniDex significantly improves retrieval capabilities, marking a paradigm shift from term-based to model-based indexing. Our deployment within Kuaishou's short-video search systems further validates UniDex's practical effectiveness, serving hundreds of millions of active users efficiently.

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