Microsoft has released the first release candidate for SQL Server 2025, touting AI capabilities and experimental features through PREVIEW_FEATURES.

A new SQL Server 2025 feature lets organizations run vector-based semantic searches on their own data, connecting to local or cloud-hosted AI models without relying on massive general-purpose LLMs.

Microsoft's Abdullah Mamun and Kendal Van Dyke break down how SQL's recent updates are giving database pros new ways to take control of their data.