SQL Server 2025 Shows Off Vector Search and Copilot in Public Preview

SQL Server 2025, the next major version of SQL Server, reached public preview in Apr. 2025 with the typical array of engine performance and security enhancements and a new application icon. Expected to reach general availability in Nov. 2025, it also improves how SQL Server works with Azure-based services to share data by relying on Azure Arc to provide a gateway between on-premises and Microsoft’s Azure cloud. New for this version are two AI-related capabilities: Copilot and embedded vector search. Copilot, Microsoft ‘s brand for natural language AI capabilities, is arriving in SQL Server Management Studio to help developers write code more quickly. New native embedded vector search works with existing databases, includes a new vector field type and commands to build models on user-selected model engines, and brings changes to the database engine that provide a significant boost to SQL Server’s ability to search using natural language. Customers using SQL Server 2016, which leaves support in mid-2026, should consider SQL Server 2025 as a destination to benefit from the life cycle of the new version. Licensing and edition changes, if any, will not be announced until general availability, but this release could be the point where Microsoft converts SQL Server to a subscription-only product like it has with most other on-premises software. SQL Server 2025 details are discussed in the Directions report “SQL Server 2025 Gets Engine and AI Updates.”