what is heuristic search in ai

What is heuristic search in artificial intelligence?

In artificial intelligence (AI), heuristic search is a technique that allows a computer or machine to intelligently evaluate different options to find a solution to a problem. If you're wondering what is heuristic search in ai, simply put, it means that the machine uses general rules or "smart shortcuts" to solve a problem, allowing it to quickly and efficiently get closer to the correct answer. This technique is primarily effective for problems where exhausting all possibilities would be very time-consuming, such as chess, puzzle solving, or root-finding algorithms.

Heuristic search techniques use a 'heuristic function', which, for each step, estimates how beneficial it is to reaching the final goal. The most popular example is the A* algorithm, widely used in computer science for shortest path searching.

The key advantage of this technique is that it saves time and resources, while also eliminating unnecessary options and focusing on the best solution. In AI, heuristic search is used in games, navigation systems, route optimization, and a variety of chatbots or problem-solving applications.

Useful Tip:

If you want to use heuristic search in AI projects, first design the right heuristic function for your problem. For example, if you're looking for the shortest route, the "direct distance" heuristic can be very useful. For details on heuristic search and its types, you can read the Heuristic (computer science) article on Wikipedia.