# Vector databases for AI agents

As of 31 Oct 2026, an AI agent gets in on its own at 3 of the 6 products we drove in vector databases. Furthest an agent got: LanceDB, Zilliz and Weaviate, each at L4 · Runs on its own.

Our drives of 6 vector databases products, 26 to 31 Oct 2026.

**For an agent today:** 3 products at L4 Runs on its own: [LanceDB](https://agentdrives.com/tools/lancedb?via=md) (MCP server: `https://docs.lancedb.com/mcp`); [Zilliz](https://agentdrives.com/tools/zilliz?via=md) (docs: `https://docs.zilliz.com:443/docs/home`); [Weaviate](https://agentdrives.com/tools/weaviate?via=md) (CLI: `pipx install weaviate-cli`).

## 6 products by level

3 of 6 let our agent in on its own.

- L5 Autonomous: 0
- L4 Runs on its own: 3 (LanceDB, Zilliz, Weaviate)
- L3 Does the work: 0
- L2 Gets in: 0
- L1 Needs a person: 3 (Chroma, Pinecone, turbopuffer)
- L0 Read-only: 0

## Every product we drove

Open a product for its whole drive.

Sorted by level, then work done, then time to the first call ([how we order lists](https://agentdrives.com/method?via=md#order)).

| Product | Level | Stopped at | Route | Core work | Driven |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [LanceDB](https://agentdrives.com/tools/lancedb?via=md) | L4 Runs on its own | Paying: A sales call | API | 8 of 8 | 30 Oct 2026 |
| [Zilliz](https://agentdrives.com/tools/zilliz?via=md) | L4 Runs on its own | Paying: Stopped at the $99 a month charge | API, Browser | 7 of 7 | 28 Oct 2026 |
| [Weaviate](https://agentdrives.com/tools/weaviate?via=md) | L4 Runs on its own | Paying: Stopped at the $45 a month charge | API, MCP, Browser | 10 of 10 | 28 Oct 2026 |
| [Chroma](https://agentdrives.com/tools/trychroma?via=md) | L1 Needs a person | Sign-up: Sign-up disabled: Chroma Cloud winding down | None | No task done | 31 Oct 2026 |
| [Pinecone](https://agentdrives.com/tools/pinecone?via=md) | L1 Needs a person | Sign-up: Cloudflare Turnstile on the email sign-up | None | No task done | 26 Oct 2026 |
| [turbopuffer](https://agentdrives.com/tools/turbopuffer?via=md) | L1 Needs a person | Getting an API key: card subscription before any API key | None | No task done | 31 Oct 2026 |

## How agents connect

How many of the 6 have each one, tested in our drives or listed in their docs.

| API | MCP server | CLI | SDK | Agent payment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 of 6 | 6 of 6 | 3 of 6 | 6 of 6 | 1 of 6 |

## Where agents drop out

Pay loses the most: 4 of 6 stopped there or needed a person.

Of the 6 products driven, how many our agent passed on its own at each checkpoint.

| Checkpoint | Passed on its own | A person did it | Stopped | Nothing to do | Not reached | Not tried |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Docs | 6 of 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sign up | 3 of 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Verify | 3 of 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Key | 2 of 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| First call | 3 of 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| First action | 3 of 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Pay | 0 of 6 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Cancel | 0 of 6 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Delete | 2 of 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |

## What an agent can do in each

The tasks most vector databases products share. Our agent did at least one at 3 of 6.

| Product | Create or update a record | Delete a record | Query records with filters | Run a full-text search | Run a vector search | Create a database | List databases and read their schema | Back up a database |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LanceDB | done | done | done | done | done | – | done | – |
| Zilliz | done | done | done | done | done | done | – | blocked |
| Weaviate | done | done | done | done | done | done | done | done |
| Chroma | not tried | not tried | not tried | not tried | not tried | not tried | not tried | – |
| Pinecone | not tried | not tried | not tried | not tried | not tried | not tried | not tried | not tried |
| turbopuffer | not tried | not tried | not tried | not tried | not tried | not tried | not tried | not tried |

## The walls our agent met

A bot check stopped our agent at 1 of 6, from 1 vendors.

- Cloudflare (at Sign up): stopped 1 of 6 (Pinecone)
- Google reCAPTCHA (at Sign up): let it in at 1 of 6 (Zilliz)
- Another wall at the door (at Sign up, Key): stopped 2 of 6 (Chroma: Sign-up disabled: Chroma Cloud winding down; turbopuffer: card subscription before any API key)

## Use the data

The numbers on this page, for your own tools and agents.

- JSON: [/categories/vector-databases.json](https://agentdrives.com/categories/vector-databases.json?via=md)
- This page: [/categories/vector-databases](https://agentdrives.com/categories/vector-databases?via=md)

## Get your shortlist driven before you choose

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[See the Tool comparison](https://agentdrives.com/stack-check) · [Check your own product free](https://agentdrives.com/scan?via=md)