Knowledge Discovery

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Meet the Experts

Photo of Hayley Sutherland
Hayley Sutherland

Research Manager, Conversational AI & Intelligent Knowledge Discovery



IDC's Knowledge Discovery program analyzes the technological capabilities, market trends, and buyer needs surrounding the evolution of search into knowledge discovery. Knowledge discovery systems use technologies such as ontologies and taxonomies; semantic knowledge graphs; keyword, vector, and hybrid search; and AI, including LLMs, to analyze various structured and unstructured forms of data. Increasingly, these systems can analyze such data from across different repositories and proactively surface contextualized insights, products, and other recommendations.


Markets and Subjects Analyzed


Knowledge discovery software (KDS) refers to software product/services that are used to develop solutions that find and provide answers, entities (people, places, things), and/or information and knowledge. This program covers the following topics:

  • Knowledge discovery and search systems and use cases, including departmental, enterprise, and task-based search systems; general-purpose question answering and conversational search systems; expert identification, public-facing site search, and ecommerce-based/product search and recommendations; and unified information access systems that combine text analytics, clustering, categorization, and search
  • Underlying capabilities and technologies such as semantic knowledge graphs, vector search, knowledge mining, ML- and NLP-based clustering and categorization, and other forms of semantic analysis and information visualization that help organizations to glean insights from unstructured data
  • The evolution of GenAI and the key role that search and knowledge discovery technologies play in enabling the use of LLMs with organizational, customer, and third-party data via retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), as well as the impact of GenAI on the KDS competitive landscape
  • Knowledge-as-a-service platforms focused on areas such as situational intelligence, competitive intelligence, and market intelligence
  • AI technologies and techniques for constructing taxonomies/ontologies, knowledge bases, and enterprise knowledge graphs for use cases including enterprise/site/product search, general-purpose question answering, and conversational search

Core Research


  • Market Share: Knowledge Discovery Software
  • Market Forecast: Knowledge Discovery Software
  • Market Analysis Perspective: Knowledge Discovery Software
  • IDC MarketScape: Knowledge Discovery Software
  • Buyer Survey: Knowledge Discovery Software

In addition to the insight provided in this service, IDC may conduct research on specific topics or emerging market segments via research offerings that require additional IDC funding and client investment.


Key Questions Answered


  1. How are GenAI and RAG transforming the search and knowledge discovery landscape?
  2. What are the trends, opportunities, and market size for knowledge discovery software?
  3. How will knowledge discovery augment and enrich knowledge work, and how can that value best be measured and communicated?
  4. How are vendor offerings in the knowledge discovery market differentiated?
  5. What challenges do businesses face in building and adopting knowledge discovery solutions?

Companies Covered