diff --git a/src-docs/src/views/search_bar/search_bar_example.js b/src-docs/src/views/search_bar/search_bar_example.js
index a3fc5cb4456..28c8e9a7e8d 100644
--- a/src-docs/src/views/search_bar/search_bar_example.js
+++ b/src-docs/src/views/search_bar/search_bar_example.js
@@ -41,7 +41,8 @@ export const SearchBarExample = {
               (free text words) - Example,
               <EuiCode>website -production</EuiCode>. In this example the
               intention is to find all items that have the &quot;website&quot;
-              terms in them but do not have the word &quot;production&quot;
+              terms in them but do not have the word &quot;production&quot;.
+              Terms are AND&apos;d together by default.
             </li>
             <li>
               Phrases can be matched by surrounding multiple words with quotes -
diff --git a/src/components/search_bar/query/__snapshots__/ast_to_es_query_dsl.test.ts.snap b/src/components/search_bar/query/__snapshots__/ast_to_es_query_dsl.test.ts.snap
index aa9c884c0fd..3679a788902 100644
--- a/src/components/search_bar/query/__snapshots__/ast_to_es_query_dsl.test.ts.snap
+++ b/src/components/search_bar/query/__snapshots__/ast_to_es_query_dsl.test.ts.snap
@@ -6,6 +6,43 @@ Object {
 }
 `;
 
+exports[`astToEsQueryDsl ast - '(john OR -mary)' 1`] = `
+Object {
+  "bool": Object {
+    "must": Array [
+      Object {
+        "bool": Object {
+          "should": Array [
+            Object {
+              "bool": Object {
+                "must": Array [
+                  Object {
+                    "simple_query_string": Object {
+                      "query": "+john",
+                    },
+                  },
+                ],
+              },
+            },
+            Object {
+              "bool": Object {
+                "must_not": Array [
+                  Object {
+                    "simple_query_string": Object {
+                      "query": "+mary",
+                    },
+                  },
+                ],
+              },
+            },
+          ],
+        },
+      },
+    ],
+  },
+}
+`;
+
 exports[`astToEsQueryDsl ast - '-group:es group:kibana -group:beats group:logstash' 1`] = `
 Object {
   "bool": Object {
@@ -67,7 +104,7 @@ Object {
     "must": Array [
       Object {
         "simple_query_string": Object {
-          "query": "john",
+          "query": "+john",
         },
       },
       Object {
@@ -94,7 +131,7 @@ Object {
     "must": Array [
       Object {
         "simple_query_string": Object {
-          "query": "john",
+          "query": "+john",
         },
       },
       Object {
@@ -133,7 +170,7 @@ Object {
     "must_not": Array [
       Object {
         "simple_query_string": Object {
-          "query": "doe",
+          "query": "+doe",
         },
       },
       Object {
@@ -155,14 +192,14 @@ Object {
     "must": Array [
       Object {
         "simple_query_string": Object {
-          "query": "john",
+          "query": "+john",
         },
       },
     ],
     "must_not": Array [
       Object {
         "simple_query_string": Object {
-          "query": "sales",
+          "query": "+sales",
         },
       },
     ],
@@ -176,7 +213,7 @@ Object {
     "must": Array [
       Object {
         "simple_query_string": Object {
-          "query": "john",
+          "query": "+john",
         },
       },
       Object {
@@ -216,7 +253,7 @@ Object {
     "must": Array [
       Object {
         "simple_query_string": Object {
-          "query": "john",
+          "query": "+john",
         },
       },
       Object {
@@ -498,7 +535,7 @@ Object {
                 "must": Array [
                   Object {
                     "simple_query_string": Object {
-                      "query": "Teacher",
+                      "query": "+Teacher",
                     },
                   },
                 ],
@@ -518,14 +555,14 @@ Object {
     "must": Array [
       Object {
         "simple_query_string": Object {
-          "query": "\\"john smith\\"",
+          "query": "+\\"john smith\\"",
         },
       },
     ],
     "must_not": Array [
       Object {
         "simple_query_string": Object {
-          "query": "\\"sales team\\"",
+          "query": "+\\"sales team\\"",
         },
       },
     ],
diff --git a/src/components/search_bar/query/ast_to_es_query_dsl.test.ts b/src/components/search_bar/query/ast_to_es_query_dsl.test.ts
index 2b57a362005..e0fae3c361a 100644
--- a/src/components/search_bar/query/ast_to_es_query_dsl.test.ts
+++ b/src/components/search_bar/query/ast_to_es_query_dsl.test.ts
@@ -32,6 +32,15 @@ describe('astToEsQueryDsl', () => {
     expect(query).toMatchSnapshot();
   });
 
+  test("ast - '(john OR -mary)'", () => {
+    const query = astToEsQueryDsl(
+      AST.create([
+        AST.Group.must([AST.Term.must('john'), AST.Term.mustNot('mary')]),
+      ])
+    );
+    expect(query).toMatchSnapshot();
+  });
+
   test("ast - '-group:es group:kibana -group:beats group:logstash'", () => {
     const query = astToEsQueryDsl(
       AST.create([
diff --git a/src/components/search_bar/query/ast_to_es_query_dsl.ts b/src/components/search_bar/query/ast_to_es_query_dsl.ts
index 12cca9e0610..ea32ea2552c 100644
--- a/src/components/search_bar/query/ast_to_es_query_dsl.ts
+++ b/src/components/search_bar/query/ast_to_es_query_dsl.ts
@@ -99,13 +99,16 @@ const processDateOperation = (value: DateValue, operator?: OperatorType) => {
 };
 
 export const _termValuesToQuery = (values: Value[], options: Options) => {
-  const body: { query: string; fields?: string[] } = {
+  const body: {
+    query: string;
+    fields?: string[];
+  } = {
     query: values
       .map((value: Value) => {
         if (isString(value) && value.match(/\s/)) {
-          return `"${value}"`;
+          return `+"${value}"`;
         }
-        return value;
+        return `+${value}`;
       })
       .join(' '),
   };
diff --git a/upcoming_changelogs/6717.md b/upcoming_changelogs/6717.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..08266586283
--- /dev/null
+++ b/upcoming_changelogs/6717.md
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+**Bug fixes**
+
+- Fixed inconsistency in AND/OR semantics between DSL and query string generation by the search bar component.
+