When Text Embedding Meets Large Language Model: A Comprehensive Survey

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Nie, Zhijie, Feng, Zhangchi, Li, Mingxin, Zhang, Cunwang, Zhang, Yanzhao, Long, Dingkun, Zhang, Richong
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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author Nie, Zhijie
Feng, Zhangchi
Li, Mingxin
Zhang, Cunwang
Zhang, Yanzhao
Long, Dingkun
Zhang, Richong
author_facet Nie, Zhijie
Feng, Zhangchi
Li, Mingxin
Zhang, Cunwang
Zhang, Yanzhao
Long, Dingkun
Zhang, Richong
contents Text embedding has become a foundational technology in natural language processing (NLP) during the deep learning era, driving advancements across a wide array of downstream tasks. While many natural language understanding challenges can now be modeled using generative paradigms and leverage the robust generative and comprehension capabilities of large language models (LLMs), numerous practical applications - such as semantic matching, clustering, and information retrieval - continue to rely on text embeddings for their efficiency and effectiveness. Therefore, integrating LLMs with text embeddings has become a major research focus in recent years. In this survey, we categorize the interplay between LLMs and text embeddings into three overarching themes: (1) LLM-augmented text embedding, enhancing traditional embedding methods with LLMs; (2) LLMs as text embedders, adapting their innate capabilities for high-quality embedding; and (3) Text embedding understanding with LLMs, leveraging LLMs to analyze and interpret embeddings. By organizing recent works based on interaction patterns rather than specific downstream applications, we offer a novel and systematic overview of contributions from various research and application domains in the era of LLMs. Furthermore, we highlight the unresolved challenges that persisted in the pre-LLM era with pre-trained language models (PLMs) and explore the emerging obstacles brought forth by LLMs. Building on this analysis, we outline prospective directions for the evolution of text embedding, addressing both theoretical and practical opportunities in the rapidly advancing landscape of NLP.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2412_09165
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle When Text Embedding Meets Large Language Model: A Comprehensive Survey
Nie, Zhijie
Feng, Zhangchi
Li, Mingxin
Zhang, Cunwang
Zhang, Yanzhao
Long, Dingkun
Zhang, Richong
Computation and Language
Artificial Intelligence
Information Retrieval
Text embedding has become a foundational technology in natural language processing (NLP) during the deep learning era, driving advancements across a wide array of downstream tasks. While many natural language understanding challenges can now be modeled using generative paradigms and leverage the robust generative and comprehension capabilities of large language models (LLMs), numerous practical applications - such as semantic matching, clustering, and information retrieval - continue to rely on text embeddings for their efficiency and effectiveness. Therefore, integrating LLMs with text embeddings has become a major research focus in recent years. In this survey, we categorize the interplay between LLMs and text embeddings into three overarching themes: (1) LLM-augmented text embedding, enhancing traditional embedding methods with LLMs; (2) LLMs as text embedders, adapting their innate capabilities for high-quality embedding; and (3) Text embedding understanding with LLMs, leveraging LLMs to analyze and interpret embeddings. By organizing recent works based on interaction patterns rather than specific downstream applications, we offer a novel and systematic overview of contributions from various research and application domains in the era of LLMs. Furthermore, we highlight the unresolved challenges that persisted in the pre-LLM era with pre-trained language models (PLMs) and explore the emerging obstacles brought forth by LLMs. Building on this analysis, we outline prospective directions for the evolution of text embedding, addressing both theoretical and practical opportunities in the rapidly advancing landscape of NLP.
title When Text Embedding Meets Large Language Model: A Comprehensive Survey
topic Computation and Language
Artificial Intelligence
Information Retrieval
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2412.09165