SEC Semantic Search API — AI-Powered Filing Search

Search SEC filings by meaning, not just keywords. AI-powered semantic search finds relevant passages across millions of filings even when exact terms differ. Start free.

SEC Semantic Search API

Traditional keyword search misses filings that discuss a concept without using your exact terms. Datastream’s semantic search uses vector embeddings to find filings by meaning — so a search for “supply chain disruption” also returns filings discussing “logistics delays,” “component shortages,” and “vendor concentration risk.”

Capabilities

Meaning-based search

Vector embeddings match on semantic similarity, not just keyword overlap. Find relevant filings even when terminology differs.

Passage-level results

Results include the specific passage that matched, with surrounding context, so you can evaluate relevance instantly.

Hybrid search

Combine semantic similarity with structured filters — form type, ticker, date range, SIC code — for precise results.

Full corpus coverage

Millions of SEC filings indexed and embedded. Search across 10-Ks, 10-Qs, 8-Ks, proxy statements, and more.

Quick start

Search for filings discussing AI regulation risks:

curl -X POST -H "x-api-key: $OMNI_DATASTREAM_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "query": "artificial intelligence regulatory risk and compliance burden",
    "forms": ["10-K"],
    "section": "1A",
    "limit": 5
  }' \
  "https://api.secapi.ai/v1/search/semantic"

{
  "results": [
    {
      "ticker": "GOOGL",
      "company_name": "Alphabet Inc.",
      "accession_number": "0001652044-25-000012",
      "section": "1A - Risk Factors",
      "passage": "Evolving regulations around artificial intelligence, including the EU AI Act, may require significant compliance investments and could limit our ability to deploy AI features...",
      "similarity_score": 0.94,
      "filed_at": "2025-02-03"
    },
    {
      "ticker": "MSFT",
      "company_name": "Microsoft Corporation",
      "accession_number": "0000789019-24-000086",
      "section": "1A - Risk Factors",
      "passage": "Government regulation of AI is evolving rapidly. New laws and regulations may increase our compliance costs and restrict our development and deployment of AI technologies...",
      "similarity_score": 0.91,
      "filed_at": "2024-07-30"
    }
  ],
  "total_matches": 1247
}

Combine semantic search with keyword filtering:

curl -X POST -H "x-api-key: $OMNI_DATASTREAM_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "query": "material weakness in internal controls",
    "forms": ["10-K", "10-K/A"],
    "date_from": "2024-01-01",
    "must_include": ["restatement"],
    "limit": 10
  }' \
  "https://api.secapi.ai/v1/search/semantic"

Use cases

Risk factor research

Find companies discussing specific risks — climate change, cybersecurity, geopolitical exposure — across the entire SEC filing universe, regardless of the exact phrasing used.

Competitive intelligence

Search for filings that discuss a competitor’s products, markets, or strategies to understand how peers position themselves.

Due diligence

During M&A or investment due diligence, search for relevant disclosures across a target’s full filing history using natural language queries.

Regulatory impact analysis

When new regulations are proposed, search for all companies that discuss the affected activity to estimate the universe of impacted issuers.

API endpoints

Endpoint	Description
POST /v1/search/semantic	Semantic search with optional filters
POST /v1/search/similar	Find filings similar to a given passage
GET /v1/search	Keyword search (full-text)

Why Datastream for semantic search

Feature	Datastream	Raw EDGAR	SEC-API.io	EDGAR full-text
Semantic (AI) search	Yes	No	No	No
Passage-level results	Yes	No	No	No
Hybrid (semantic + filters)	Yes	No	Keyword only	Keyword only
Section-specific search	Yes	No	No	No
Filing corpus coverage	Millions	Millions (raw)	Partial	Full
Pricing	Pay-as-you-go	Free (no search)	$Varies	Free (basic)

Get started

Get your API key

Start searching SEC filings by meaning in under 60 seconds. 250 free API calls per month.

• Full-Text Search API
• 10-K Section Extraction API
• API Reference