diff --git a/packages/kbn-field-utils/src/utils/field_types.ts b/packages/kbn-field-utils/src/utils/field_types.ts
index 88d1a46949494..1d2649552479e 100644
--- a/packages/kbn-field-utils/src/utils/field_types.ts
+++ b/packages/kbn-field-utils/src/utils/field_types.ts
@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@ export enum KNOWN_FIELD_TYPES {
   RANK_FEATURES = 'rank_features',
   POINT = 'point',
   SHAPE = 'shape',
+  SPARSE_VECTOR = 'sparse_vector',
   STRING = 'string',
   TEXT = 'text',
   VERSION = 'version',
diff --git a/packages/kbn-field-utils/src/utils/get_field_type_description.ts b/packages/kbn-field-utils/src/utils/get_field_type_description.ts
index 3049da4304ec7..332f013b90db7 100644
--- a/packages/kbn-field-utils/src/utils/get_field_type_description.ts
+++ b/packages/kbn-field-utils/src/utils/get_field_type_description.ts
@@ -118,6 +118,10 @@ export function getFieldTypeDescription(type?: string) {
       return i18n.translate('fieldUtils.fieldNameDescription.shapeField', {
         defaultMessage: 'Arbitrary cartesian geometries.',
       });
+    case KNOWN_FIELD_TYPES.SPARSE_VECTOR:
+      return i18n.translate('fieldUtils.fieldNameDescription.sparseVectorField', {
+        defaultMessage: 'Records sparse vectors of float values.',
+      });
     case KNOWN_FIELD_TYPES.STRING:
       return i18n.translate('fieldUtils.fieldNameDescription.stringField', {
         defaultMessage: 'Full text such as the body of an email or a product description.',
diff --git a/packages/kbn-field-utils/src/utils/get_field_type_name.ts b/packages/kbn-field-utils/src/utils/get_field_type_name.ts
index 65ce720385b8e..bdf88897958b9 100644
--- a/packages/kbn-field-utils/src/utils/get_field_type_name.ts
+++ b/packages/kbn-field-utils/src/utils/get_field_type_name.ts
@@ -123,6 +123,10 @@ export function getFieldTypeName(type?: string) {
       return i18n.translate('fieldUtils.fieldNameIcons.shapeFieldAriaLabel', {
         defaultMessage: 'Shape',
       });
+    case KNOWN_FIELD_TYPES.SPARSE_VECTOR:
+      return i18n.translate('fieldUtils.fieldNameIcons.sparseVectorFieldAriaLabel', {
+        defaultMessage: 'Sparse vector',
+      });
     case KNOWN_FIELD_TYPES.STRING:
       return i18n.translate('fieldUtils.fieldNameIcons.stringFieldAriaLabel', {
         defaultMessage: 'String',
diff --git a/packages/kbn-react-field/src/field_icon/__snapshots__/field_icon.test.tsx.snap b/packages/kbn-react-field/src/field_icon/__snapshots__/field_icon.test.tsx.snap
index ada9724ca04e5..d33152540f7ea 100644
--- a/packages/kbn-react-field/src/field_icon/__snapshots__/field_icon.test.tsx.snap
+++ b/packages/kbn-react-field/src/field_icon/__snapshots__/field_icon.test.tsx.snap
@@ -275,6 +275,16 @@ exports[`FieldIcon renders known field types shape is rendered 1`] = `
 />
 `;
 
+exports[`FieldIcon renders known field types sparse_vector is rendered 1`] = `
+<EuiToken
+  aria-label="sparse_vector"
+  className="kbnFieldIcon"
+  iconType="tokenDenseVector"
+  size="s"
+  title="sparse_vector"
+/>
+`;
+
 exports[`FieldIcon renders known field types string is rendered 1`] = `
 <EuiToken
   aria-label="string"
diff --git a/packages/kbn-react-field/src/field_icon/field_icon.tsx b/packages/kbn-react-field/src/field_icon/field_icon.tsx
index c0f39ec12dbb6..4db1c3a61663d 100644
--- a/packages/kbn-react-field/src/field_icon/field_icon.tsx
+++ b/packages/kbn-react-field/src/field_icon/field_icon.tsx
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@ export interface FieldIconProps extends Omit<EuiTokenProps, 'iconType'> {
     | '_source'
     | 'point'
     | 'shape'
+    | 'sparse_vector'
     | 'string'
     | string
     | 'nested'
@@ -69,6 +70,7 @@ export const typeToEuiIconMap: Partial<Record<string, EuiTokenProps>> = {
   _source: { iconType: 'editorCodeBlock', color: 'gray' },
   point: { iconType: 'tokenShape' }, // there is no separate icon for `point` yet
   shape: { iconType: 'tokenShape' },
+  sparse_vector: { iconType: 'tokenDenseVector' },
   string: { iconType: 'tokenString' },
   text: { iconType: 'tokenString' },
   keyword: { iconType: 'tokenKeyword' },
diff --git a/x-pack/plugins/enterprise_search/server/lib/indices/pipelines/ml_inference/update_ml_inference_mappings.test.ts b/x-pack/plugins/enterprise_search/server/lib/indices/pipelines/ml_inference/update_ml_inference_mappings.test.ts
index 59699929ec313..bb9d7395c58e5 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugins/enterprise_search/server/lib/indices/pipelines/ml_inference/update_ml_inference_mappings.test.ts
+++ b/x-pack/plugins/enterprise_search/server/lib/indices/pipelines/ml_inference/update_ml_inference_mappings.test.ts
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ describe('updateMlInferenceMappings', () => {
             input_one_expanded: {
               properties: {
                 predicted_value: {
-                  type: 'rank_features',
+                  type: 'sparse_vector',
                 },
                 model_id: {
                   type: 'keyword',
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ describe('updateMlInferenceMappings', () => {
             input_two_expanded: {
               properties: {
                 predicted_value: {
-                  type: 'rank_features',
+                  type: 'sparse_vector',
                 },
                 model_id: {
                   type: 'keyword',
diff --git a/x-pack/plugins/enterprise_search/server/lib/indices/pipelines/ml_inference/update_ml_inference_mappings.ts b/x-pack/plugins/enterprise_search/server/lib/indices/pipelines/ml_inference/update_ml_inference_mappings.ts
index 3cc2ef3c2ed4f..fa8d06bde503f 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugins/enterprise_search/server/lib/indices/pipelines/ml_inference/update_ml_inference_mappings.ts
+++ b/x-pack/plugins/enterprise_search/server/lib/indices/pipelines/ml_inference/update_ml_inference_mappings.ts
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ const generateTextExpansionMappingProperties = (sourceFields: string[], targetFi
               type: 'keyword',
             },
             predicted_value: {
-              type: 'rank_features',
+              type: 'sparse_vector',
             },
           },
         },
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@ const formDefaultElserMappingProps = (sourceFields: string[]) => {
             type: 'keyword',
           },
           predicted_value: {
-            type: 'rank_features',
+            type: 'sparse_vector',
           },
         },
       },
diff --git a/x-pack/plugins/index_management/public/application/components/mappings_editor/constants/data_types_definition.tsx b/x-pack/plugins/index_management/public/application/components/mappings_editor/constants/data_types_definition.tsx
index 89043c9fd7e69..8035b6af08b48 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugins/index_management/public/application/components/mappings_editor/constants/data_types_definition.tsx
+++ b/x-pack/plugins/index_management/public/application/components/mappings_editor/constants/data_types_definition.tsx
@@ -851,6 +851,23 @@ export const TYPE_DEFINITION: { [key in DataType]: DataTypeDefinition } = {
       </p>
     ),
   },
+  sparse_vector: {
+    label: i18n.translate('xpack.idxMgmt.mappingsEditor.dataType.sparseVectorDescription', {
+      defaultMessage: 'Sparse vector',
+    }),
+    value: 'sparse_vector',
+    documentation: {
+      main: 'sparse-vector.html',
+    },
+    description: () => (
+      <p>
+        <FormattedMessage
+          id="xpack.idxMgmt.mappingsEditor.dataType.sparseVectorLongDescription"
+          defaultMessage="Sparse vector fields index features and weights, useful for document scoring."
+        />
+      </p>
+    ),
+  },
   point: {
     label: i18n.translate('xpack.idxMgmt.mappingsEditor.dataType.pointDescription', {
       defaultMessage: 'Point',
@@ -958,6 +975,7 @@ export const MAIN_TYPES: MainType[] = [
   'rank_features',
   'search_as_you_type',
   'shape',
+  'sparse_vector',
   'text',
   'token_count',
   'histogram',
diff --git a/x-pack/plugins/index_management/public/application/components/mappings_editor/types/document_fields.ts b/x-pack/plugins/index_management/public/application/components/mappings_editor/types/document_fields.ts
index 5f6f4c6728be0..e62414f23e3f2 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugins/index_management/public/application/components/mappings_editor/types/document_fields.ts
+++ b/x-pack/plugins/index_management/public/application/components/mappings_editor/types/document_fields.ts
@@ -58,6 +58,7 @@ export type MainType =
   | 'rank_features'
   | 'shape'
   | 'search_as_you_type'
+  | 'sparse_vector'
   | 'date'
   | 'date_nanos'
   | 'geo_point'