So, we saw how an agent (like a driver in Romania) plans its route from Arad to Bucharest.
The agent first defines its goal, then looks for the best path using a search process.
Now, how do you think the agent actually searches for that path?
This question sets up the need for Search Strategies.
The agent doesn’t just guess — it searches through all possible routes step by step.
Different agents can use different search strategies to find the goal.
Some agents search blindly without knowing where the goal is,
and others search intelligently using some extra knowledge.
Uninformed (Blind) Search
The agent has no clue where the goal is.
It just explores all possibilities systematically.
For example, its like – Imagine you’re in a new city and you’re hungry.
You don’t know where any restaurants are, so you just start walking randomly through the streets until you find one.
You’ll eventually find food, but it might take a long time — you’re exploring blindly.
Uninformed (Blind) Search are:
- Breadth-First Search (BFS)
- Depth-First Search (DFS)
- Uniform Cost Search (UCS)
Informed (Heuristic) Search
The agent has some extra knowledge that helps it move faster toward the goal.
It uses a heuristic (a smart guess) to choose better paths.
For example, Now imagine you open Google Maps on your phone.
It shows you which direction the nearest restaurant is and how far it is.
You directly walk in that direction — much faster!
You used extra information (the map) to guide your search.
- Best-First Search
- A* Search
Difference of Uninformed and informed search
| Feature | Uninformed Search | Informed Search |
| Knowledge | No extra info | Uses heuristic info |
| Speed | Slow | Fast |
| Time/Space | High | Low |
| Strategy | Blind exploration | Guided exploration |
| Examples | BFS, DFS | A*, Best-First Search |