SQL Server 2025 dropped at Ignite, and it’s not just another incremental update. Microsoft actually listened this time.
Vectors Are Native Now
No more hacking JSON arrays or bolting on external vector databases. SQL Server 2025 has a proper VECTOR data type baked into the engine. Store embeddings, run similarity searches, build RAG applications—all in T-SQL. The DiskANN indexing makes it fast enough for production workloads.
CREATE TABLE Documents (
Id INT PRIMARY KEY,
Content NVARCHAR(MAX),
Embedding VECTOR(1536)
);
-- Find similar documents
SELECT TOP 10 * FROM Documents
ORDER BY VECTOR_DISTANCE('cosine', Embedding, @queryVector);
Regex After 30 Years
Yes, really. T-SQL finally has regex support in 2025. No more PATINDEX gymnastics or CLR assemblies for basic pattern matching.
SELECT * FROM Logs
WHERE REGEXP_LIKE(Message, '^ERROR:\s+\d{4}');
REST Calls From Stored Procedures
sp_invoke_external_rest_endpoint lets you call APIs directly from T-SQL. Webhook notifications, external service lookups, AI model inference—without leaving the database.
Copilot in SSMS
GitHub Copilot integration in SQL Server Management Studio 22. Write a comment describing what you want, get the query. Works with your existing Copilot subscription.
Edition Shake-Up
Standard Edition got beefed up: 32 cores and 256 GB buffer pool. Resource Governor included.
Express Edition jumps from 10 GB to 50 GB database size limit. Finally useful for small production workloads.
Web Edition is dead. Gone. Migrate to Standard.
The Bottom Line
Microsoft shipped actual features developers have been requesting for years. Native vectors, regex, REST endpoints, better Express limits. SQL Server 2025 is the most significant release since 2016.
If you’re still on 2019 or earlier, this is worth the upgrade conversation.
More info: What’s New in SQL Server 2025