diff --git a/docs/reference/query-languages/esql/_snippets/operators/detailedDescription/like.md b/docs/reference/query-languages/esql/_snippets/operators/detailedDescription/like.md
index dbaa8a3c32209..b397543094a34 100644
--- a/docs/reference/query-languages/esql/_snippets/operators/detailedDescription/like.md
+++ b/docs/reference/query-languages/esql/_snippets/operators/detailedDescription/like.md
@@ -1,5 +1,9 @@
 % This is generated by ESQL's AbstractFunctionTestCase. Do not edit it. See ../README.md for how to regenerate it.
 
+When used on `text` fields, `LIKE` treats the field as a `keyword` and does not use the analyzer.
+This means the pattern matching is case-sensitive and must match the exact string indexed.
+To perform full-text search, use the `MATCH` or `QSTR` functions.
+
 Matching the exact characters `*` and `.` will require escaping.
 The escape character is backslash `\`. Since also backslash is a special character in string literals,
 it will require further escaping.
diff --git a/docs/reference/query-languages/esql/_snippets/operators/detailedDescription/rlike.md b/docs/reference/query-languages/esql/_snippets/operators/detailedDescription/rlike.md
index 316ae8f5a28b2..a56d332c66806 100644
--- a/docs/reference/query-languages/esql/_snippets/operators/detailedDescription/rlike.md
+++ b/docs/reference/query-languages/esql/_snippets/operators/detailedDescription/rlike.md
@@ -1,5 +1,9 @@
 % This is generated by ESQL's AbstractFunctionTestCase. Do not edit it. See ../README.md for how to regenerate it.
 
+When used on `text` fields, `RLIKE` treats the field as a `keyword` and does not use the analyzer.
+This means the pattern matching is case-sensitive and must match the exact string indexed.
+To perform full-text search, use the `MATCH` or `QSTR` functions.
+
 Matching special characters (eg. `.`, `*`, `(`...) will require escaping.
 The escape character is backslash `\`. Since also backslash is a special character in string literals,
 it will require further escaping.
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/expression/function/scalar/string/regex/RLike.java b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/expression/function/scalar/string/regex/RLike.java
index afbc9d8dd0f62..9c2a27ce11260 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/expression/function/scalar/string/regex/RLike.java
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/expression/function/scalar/string/regex/RLike.java
@@ -41,6 +41,10 @@ public class RLike extends RegexMatch<RLikePattern> {
 
         // we use an inline example here because ?pattern not supported in csv-spec test
         detailedDescription = """
+            When used on `text` fields, `RLIKE` treats the field as a `keyword` and does not use the analyzer.
+            This means the pattern matching is case-sensitive and must match the exact string indexed.
+            To perform full-text search, use the `MATCH` or `QSTR` functions.
+
             Matching special characters (eg. `.`, `*`, `(`...) will require escaping.
             The escape character is backslash `\\`. Since also backslash is a special character in string literals,
             it will require further escaping.
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/expression/function/scalar/string/regex/WildcardLike.java b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/expression/function/scalar/string/regex/WildcardLike.java
index 28a4eaead2e72..6e4adab1fa2e1 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/expression/function/scalar/string/regex/WildcardLike.java
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/expression/function/scalar/string/regex/WildcardLike.java
@@ -51,6 +51,10 @@ also act on a constant (literal) expression. The right-hand side of the operator
 
         // we use an inline example here because ?pattern not supported in csv-spec test
         detailedDescription = """
+            When used on `text` fields, `LIKE` treats the field as a `keyword` and does not use the analyzer.
+            This means the pattern matching is case-sensitive and must match the exact string indexed.
+            To perform full-text search, use the `MATCH` or `QSTR` functions.
+
             Matching the exact characters `*` and `.` will require escaping.
             The escape character is backslash `\\`. Since also backslash is a special character in string literals,
             it will require further escaping.