Question

How does the use of heuristics reduce the search space?

Answer 1

In computer science, artificial intelligence, and mathematical optimization, a heuristic (from Greek εὑρίσκω "I find, discover") is a technique designed for solving a problemmore quickly when classic methods are too slow, or for finding an approximate solution when classic methods fail to find any exact solution. This is achieved by trading optimality, completeness, accuracy, or precision for speed. In a way, it can be considered a shortcut.

A heuristic function, also called simply a heuristic, is a function that ranks alternatives in search algorithms at each branching step based on available information to decide which branch to follow. For example, it may approximate the exact solution.[1]