AI-powered search is entering a new phase, one where semantic understanding, richer context and personalization converge to turn routine queries into meaningful, conversational results. Instead of returning static lists, modern systems surface insights that feel tailored, intuitive and immediately actionable.
OpenSearch Dashboards amplify that shift by transforming traditional data visualization into an intelligence layer that adapts in real time. The platform weaves analytics and model integration directly into the search experience, creating a smarter and more responsive engine for discovery, according to Bianca Lewis (pictured), executive director of the OpenSearch Software Foundation.
“New lease of life, I could say, in the fields of AI search, the way that observability is changing and everything else,” Lewis said. “There’s an OpenSearch Dashboard that we can cover this, but it’s changed from about 200 contributors to over 3,000 contributors. It’s gone to 1.4 billion project downloads today. The ecosystem now consists of almost 100 solution providers. So, OpenSearch as a project, as a platform has become really, really huge.”
Lewis spoke with Rob Strechay for theCUBE’s KubeCon + CloudNativeCon NA coverage. They discussed the significance of AI-powered search and how OpenSearch Dashboards bring it to life.
How community-driven development supercharges AI-powered search
Community-driven development sits at the heart of open-source success, bringing rapid problem solving, diverse expertise and built-in transparency to every release. This collective momentum is exactly what makes AI-powered search faster, smarter and more reliable — strengthening trust, accelerating innovation and supporting long-term sustainability, according to Lewis.
“The conversations carried on at KubeCon, because people were using it more and more for their security monitoring, and they were using it more for building AI applications with OpenSearch as an AI-native database,” she said. “I think the approach is to be able to control your technology based on open source, on OpenSearch especially, control the cost and control the functionality. You can use it on the same data retrieval layer of OpenSearch. It was an eye-opener just how people are using this technology.”
Navigating the open-source go-to-market landscape is pivotal, because real success depends on uniting community-driven development with rapid innovation and sound business strategy. That blend ultimately determines whether a project gains adoption, builds traction and sustains revenue, Lewis added.
“I got introduced to what an open source go-to-market model was and how that interfaces with the commercial vendor ecosystem and how companies can really have great foundation and commercial interest in using open source as a business model to build their business on,” she said. “A few years later, I joined the founding team of a company called Opster, which took it from use cases where we largely dealt with large observability clusters into more the application and mission-critical search operations of Elasticsearch.”
Open source was the driving force behind the OpenSearch Software Foundation, shaping its community culture, governance model and long-term stability. By carrying forward the development and stewardship of software born in the open, the foundation reflects the very principles that inspired its creation, Lewis pointed out.
“That was the birth of OpenSearch,” she said. “At the end of the day, open source for me will always win, especially if you’re dealing in the realms of foundational platforms within a business to build the applications on.”
Here’s the complete video interview, part of News’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the KubeCon + CloudNativeCon NA event:
Photo: News
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