diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 477e8e7..0c6d08c 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -280,7 +280,7 @@ from semhash import SemHash
 texts = load_dataset("ag_news", split="train")["text"]
 
 # Load an embedding model (in this example, a multilingual model)
-model = StaticModel.from_pretrained("minishlab/M2V_multilingual_output")
+model = StaticModel.from_pretrained("minishlab/potion-multilingual-128M")
 
 # Initialize a SemHash with the model and custom encoder
 semhash = SemHash.from_records(records=texts, model=model)
@@ -318,21 +318,23 @@ deduplicated_texts = semhash.self_deduplicate()
 <summary>  Using custom ANN backends </summary>
 <br>
 
-The following code snippet shows how to use a custom ANN backend and custom args with SemHash:
+By default, we use [USearch](https://github.com/unum-cloud/USearch) as the ANN (approximate-nearest neighbors) backend for deduplication. We recommend keeping this since the recall for smaller datasets is ~100%, and it's needed for larger datasets (>1M samples) since these will take too long to deduplicate without ANN. If you want to use a flat/exact-matching backend, you can set `ann_backend=Backend.BASIC` in the SemHash constructor:
 
 ```python
-from datasets import load_dataset
 from semhash import SemHash
 from vicinity import Backend
 
-# Load a dataset to deduplicate
-texts = load_dataset("ag_news", split="train")["text"]
+semhash = SemHash.from_records(records=texts, ann_backend=Backend.BASIC)
+```
 
-# Initialize a SemHash with the model and custom ann backend and custom args
-semhash = SemHash.from_records(records=texts, ann_backend=Backend.FAISS, nlist=50)
+Any backend from [Vicinity](https://github.com/MinishLab/vicinity) can be used with SemHash. The following code snippet shows how to use [FAISS](https://github.com/facebookresearch/faiss) with a custom `nlist` parameter:
 
-# Deduplicate the texts
-deduplicated_texts = semhash.self_deduplicate()
+```python
+from datasets import load_dataset
+from semhash import SemHash
+from vicinity import Backend
+
+semhash = SemHash.from_records(records=texts, ann_backend=Backend.FAISS, nlist=50)
 ```
 
 For the full list of supported ANN backends and args, see the [Vicinity docs](https://github.com/MinishLab/vicinity/tree/main?tab=readme-ov-file#supported-backends).
@@ -398,11 +400,6 @@ representative_texts = semhash.self_find_representative().selected
 ```
 </details>
 
-NOTE: By default, we use the ANN (approximate-nearest neighbors) backend for deduplication. We recommend keeping this since the recall for smaller datasets is ~100%, and it's needed for larger datasets (>1M samples) since these will take too long to deduplicate without ANN. If you want to use the flat/exact-matching backend, you can set `use_ann=False` in the SemHash constructor:
-
-```python
-semhash = SemHash.from_records(records=texts, use_ann=False)
-```
 
 
 
@@ -410,7 +407,7 @@ semhash = SemHash.from_records(records=texts, use_ann=False)
 
 We've benchmarked SemHash on a variety of datasets to measure the deduplication performance and speed. The benchmarks were run with the following setup:
 - The benchmarks were all run on CPU
-- The benchmarks were all run with `use_ann=True`
+- The benchmarks were all run with the default ANN backend (usearch)
 - The used encoder is the default encoder ([potion-base-8M](https://huggingface.co/minishlab/potion-base-8M)).
 - The timings include the encoding time, index building time, and deduplication time.
 ### Train Deduplication Benchmark
diff --git a/benchmarks/run_benchmarks.py b/benchmarks/run_benchmarks.py
index 128b01b..bb36a52 100644
--- a/benchmarks/run_benchmarks.py
+++ b/benchmarks/run_benchmarks.py
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ def main() -> None:  # noqa: C901
 
         # Build the SemHash instance
         build_start = perf_counter()
-        semhash = SemHash.from_records(model=model, use_ann=True, records=train_records, columns=columns)
+        semhash = SemHash.from_records(model=model, records=train_records, columns=columns)
         build_end = perf_counter()
         build_time = build_end - build_start
         # Time how long it takes to deduplicate the train set
diff --git a/semhash/semhash.py b/semhash/semhash.py
index c655d7d..1061ae8 100644
--- a/semhash/semhash.py
+++ b/semhash/semhash.py
@@ -45,7 +45,6 @@ def from_records(
         cls,
         records: Sequence[Record],
         columns: Sequence[str] | None = None,
-        use_ann: bool = True,
         model: Encoder | None = None,
         ann_backend: Backend | str = Backend.USEARCH,
         **kwargs: Any,
@@ -57,9 +56,8 @@ def from_records(
 
         :param records: A list of records (strings or dictionaries).
         :param columns: Columns to featurize if records are dictionaries.
-        :param use_ann: Whether to use approximate nearest neighbors (True) or basic search (False). Default is True.
         :param model: (Optional) An Encoder model. If None, the default model is used (minishlab/potion-base-8M).
-        :param ann_backend: (Optional) The ANN backend to use if use_ann is True. Defaults to Backend.USEARCH.
+        :param ann_backend: (Optional) The ANN backend to use. Defaults to Backend.USEARCH.
         :param **kwargs: Any additional keyword arguments to pass to the Vicinity index.
         :return: A SemHash instance with a fitted vicinity index.
         """
@@ -90,11 +88,10 @@ def from_records(
         embeddings = featurize(deduplicated_records, columns, model)
 
         # Build the Vicinity index
-        backend = ann_backend if use_ann else Backend.BASIC
         index = Index.from_vectors_and_items(
             vectors=embeddings,
             items=items,
-            backend_type=backend,
+            backend_type=ann_backend,
             **kwargs,
         )
 
@@ -107,7 +104,6 @@ def from_embeddings(
         records: Sequence[Record],
         model: Encoder,
         columns: Sequence[str] | None = None,
-        use_ann: bool = True,
         ann_backend: Backend | str = Backend.USEARCH,
         **kwargs: Any,
     ) -> SemHash:
@@ -121,8 +117,7 @@ def from_embeddings(
         :param model: The Encoder model used for creating the embeddings.
         :param columns: Columns to use if records are dictionaries. If None and records are strings,
             defaults to ["text"].
-        :param use_ann: Whether to use approximate nearest neighbors (True) or basic search (False). Default is True.
-        :param ann_backend: (Optional) The ANN backend to use if use_ann is True. Defaults to Backend.USEARCH.
+        :param ann_backend: (Optional) The ANN backend to use. Defaults to Backend.USEARCH.
         :param **kwargs: Any additional keyword arguments to pass to the Vicinity index.
         :return: A SemHash instance with a fitted vicinity index.
         :raises ValueError: If the number of embeddings doesn't match the number of records.
@@ -157,9 +152,8 @@ def from_embeddings(
         deduplicated_embeddings = embeddings[embedding_indices]
 
         # Create the index
-        backend_type = ann_backend if use_ann else Backend.BASIC
         index = Index.from_vectors_and_items(
-            vectors=deduplicated_embeddings, items=items, backend_type=backend_type, **kwargs
+            vectors=deduplicated_embeddings, items=items, backend_type=ann_backend, **kwargs
         )
 
         return cls(index=index, model=model, columns=columns, was_string=was_string)
diff --git a/tests/conftest.py b/tests/conftest.py
index ff55fb4..69eebe8 100644
--- a/tests/conftest.py
+++ b/tests/conftest.py
@@ -8,12 +8,6 @@ def model() -> StaticModel:
     return StaticModel.from_pretrained("tests/data/test_model")
 
 
-@pytest.fixture(params=[True, False], ids=["use_ann=True", "use_ann=False"])
-def use_ann(request: pytest.FixtureRequest) -> bool:
-    """Whether to use approximate nearest neighbors or not."""
-    return request.param
-
-
 @pytest.fixture
 def train_texts() -> list[str]:
     """A list of train texts for testing outlier and representative filtering."""
diff --git a/tests/test_semhash.py b/tests/test_semhash.py
index 5923e3c..9c68c17 100644
--- a/tests/test_semhash.py
+++ b/tests/test_semhash.py
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 from semhash.utils import Encoder
 
 
-def test_single_dataset_deduplication(use_ann: bool, model: Encoder) -> None:
+def test_single_dataset_deduplication(model: Encoder) -> None:
     """Test single dataset deduplication."""
     # No duplicates
     texts = [
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ def test_single_dataset_deduplication(use_ann: bool, model: Encoder) -> None:
         "The master sword can seal the darkness.",
         "Ganondorf has invaded Hyrule!",
     ]
-    semhash = SemHash.from_records(records=texts, use_ann=use_ann, model=model)
+    semhash = SemHash.from_records(records=texts, model=model)
     deduplicated_texts = semhash.self_deduplicate().selected
 
     assert deduplicated_texts == texts
@@ -25,12 +25,12 @@ def test_single_dataset_deduplication(use_ann: bool, model: Encoder) -> None:
         "It's dangerous to go alone!",  # Exact duplicate
         "It's not safe to go alone!",  # Semantically similar
     ]
-    semhash = SemHash.from_records(records=texts, use_ann=use_ann, model=model)
+    semhash = SemHash.from_records(records=texts, model=model)
     deduplicated_texts = semhash.self_deduplicate(0.7).selected
     assert deduplicated_texts == ["It's dangerous to go alone!"]
 
 
-def test_multi_dataset_deduplication(use_ann: bool, model: Encoder) -> None:
+def test_multi_dataset_deduplication(model: Encoder) -> None:
     """Test deduplication across two datasets."""
     # No duplicates
     texts1 = [
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ def test_multi_dataset_deduplication(use_ann: bool, model: Encoder) -> None:
         "Zelda is the princess of Hyrule.",
         "Ganon is the king of thieves.",
     ]
-    semhash = SemHash.from_records(texts1, columns=None, use_ann=use_ann, model=model)
+    semhash = SemHash.from_records(texts1, columns=None, model=model)
     deduplicated_texts = semhash.deduplicate(texts2).selected
     assert deduplicated_texts == texts2
 
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ def test_multi_dataset_deduplication(use_ann: bool, model: Encoder) -> None:
     assert deduplicated_texts == []
 
 
-def test_single_dataset_deduplication_multicolumn(use_ann: bool, model: Encoder) -> None:
+def test_single_dataset_deduplication_multicolumn(model: Encoder) -> None:
     """Test single dataset deduplication with multi-column records."""
     records = [
         {"question": "What is the hero's name?", "context": "The hero is Link", "answer": "Link"},
@@ -72,7 +72,6 @@ def test_single_dataset_deduplication_multicolumn(use_ann: bool, model: Encoder)
     semhash = SemHash.from_records(
         records,
         columns=["question", "context", "answer"],
-        use_ann=use_ann,
         model=model,
     )
     deduplicated = semhash.self_deduplicate(threshold=0.7)
@@ -83,7 +82,7 @@ def test_single_dataset_deduplication_multicolumn(use_ann: bool, model: Encoder)
     ]
 
 
-def test_multi_dataset_deduplication_multicolumn(use_ann: bool, model: Encoder) -> None:
+def test_multi_dataset_deduplication_multicolumn(model: Encoder) -> None:
     """Test multi dataset deduplication with multi-column records."""
     train_records = [
         {"question": "What is the hero's name?", "context": "The hero is Link", "answer": "Link"},
@@ -101,7 +100,6 @@ def test_multi_dataset_deduplication_multicolumn(use_ann: bool, model: Encoder)
     semhash = SemHash.from_records(
         train_records,
         columns=["question", "context", "answer"],
-        use_ann=use_ann,
         model=model,
     )
     deduplicated = semhash.deduplicate(test_records).selected
@@ -110,17 +108,17 @@ def test_multi_dataset_deduplication_multicolumn(use_ann: bool, model: Encoder)
     ]
 
 
-def test_from_records_without_columns(use_ann: bool, model: Encoder) -> None:
+def test_from_records_without_columns(model: Encoder) -> None:
     """Test fitting without specifying columns."""
     records = [
         {"question": "What is the hero's name?", "context": "The hero is Link", "answer": "Link"},
         {"question": "Who is the princess?", "context": "The princess is Zelda", "answer": "Zelda"},
     ]
     with pytest.raises(ValueError):
-        SemHash.from_records(records, columns=None, use_ann=use_ann, model=model)
+        SemHash.from_records(records, columns=None, model=model)
 
 
-def test_deduplicate_with_only_exact_duplicates(use_ann: bool, model: Encoder) -> None:
+def test_deduplicate_with_only_exact_duplicates(model: Encoder) -> None:
     """Test deduplicating with only exact duplicates."""
     texts1 = [
         "It's dangerous to go alone!",
@@ -132,7 +130,7 @@ def test_deduplicate_with_only_exact_duplicates(use_ann: bool, model: Encoder) -
         "It's dangerous to go alone!",
         "It's dangerous to go alone!",
     ]
-    semhash = SemHash.from_records(texts1, use_ann=use_ann, model=model)
+    semhash = SemHash.from_records(texts1, model=model)
     deduplicated = semhash.self_deduplicate()
     assert deduplicated.selected == ["It's dangerous to go alone!"]
 
@@ -140,9 +138,9 @@ def test_deduplicate_with_only_exact_duplicates(use_ann: bool, model: Encoder) -
     assert deduplicated.selected == []
 
 
-def test_self_find_representative(use_ann: bool, model: Encoder, train_texts: list[str]) -> None:
+def test_self_find_representative(model: Encoder, train_texts: list[str]) -> None:
     """Test the self_find_representative method."""
-    semhash = SemHash.from_records(records=train_texts, use_ann=use_ann, model=model)
+    semhash = SemHash.from_records(records=train_texts, model=model)
     result = semhash.self_find_representative(
         candidate_limit=5,
         selection_size=3,
@@ -157,18 +155,18 @@ def test_self_find_representative(use_ann: bool, model: Encoder, train_texts: li
     }, "Expected representatives to be blueberry, pineapple, and grape"
 
 
-def test_find_representative(use_ann: bool, model: Encoder, train_texts: list[str], test_texts: list[str]) -> None:
+def test_find_representative(model: Encoder, train_texts: list[str], test_texts: list[str]) -> None:
     """Test the find_representative method."""
-    semhash = SemHash.from_records(records=train_texts, use_ann=use_ann, model=model)
+    semhash = SemHash.from_records(records=train_texts, model=model)
     result = semhash.find_representative(records=test_texts, candidate_limit=5, selection_size=3, diversity=0.5)
     assert len(result.selected) == 3, "Expected 3 representatives"
     selected = {r["text"] for r in result.selected}
     assert selected == {"grapefruit", "banana", "apple"}, "Expected representatives to be grapefruit, banana, and apple"
 
 
-def test_filter_outliers(use_ann: bool, model: Encoder, train_texts: list[str], test_texts: list[str]) -> None:
+def test_filter_outliers(model: Encoder, train_texts: list[str], test_texts: list[str]) -> None:
     """Test the filter_outliers method."""
-    semhash = SemHash.from_records(records=train_texts, use_ann=use_ann, model=model)
+    semhash = SemHash.from_records(records=train_texts, model=model)
     result = semhash.filter_outliers(records=test_texts, outlier_percentage=0.2)
     assert len(result.filtered) == 2, "Expected 2 outliers"
     assert len(result.selected) == len(test_texts) - 2
@@ -176,9 +174,9 @@ def test_filter_outliers(use_ann: bool, model: Encoder, train_texts: list[str],
     assert filtered == {"motorcycle", "plane"}, "Expected outliers to be motorcycle and plane"
 
 
-def test_self_filter_outliers(use_ann: bool, model: Encoder, train_texts: list[str]) -> None:
+def test_self_filter_outliers(model: Encoder, train_texts: list[str]) -> None:
     """Test the self_filter_outliers method."""
-    semhash = SemHash.from_records(records=train_texts, use_ann=use_ann, model=model)
+    semhash = SemHash.from_records(records=train_texts, model=model)
     result = semhash.self_filter_outliers(outlier_percentage=0.1)
     assert len(result.filtered) == 2, "Expected 2 outliers"
     assert len(result.selected) == len(train_texts) - 2
@@ -216,7 +214,7 @@ def test__diversify(monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch) -> None:
     assert result_empty.scores_filtered == []
 
 
-def test_from_embeddings(use_ann: bool, model: Encoder, train_texts: list[str]) -> None:
+def test_from_embeddings(model: Encoder, train_texts: list[str]) -> None:
     """Test from_embeddings constructor with validation and comparison to from_records."""
     # Test validation: mismatched shapes
     with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="Number of embeddings"):
@@ -224,12 +222,10 @@ def test_from_embeddings(use_ann: bool, model: Encoder, train_texts: list[str])
         SemHash.from_embeddings(embeddings=wrong_embeddings, records=train_texts, model=model)
 
     # Test that from_embeddings behaves same as from_records
-    semhash_from_records = SemHash.from_records(records=train_texts, model=model, use_ann=use_ann)
+    semhash_from_records = SemHash.from_records(records=train_texts, model=model)
 
     embeddings = model.encode(train_texts)
-    semhash_from_embeddings = SemHash.from_embeddings(
-        embeddings=embeddings, records=train_texts, model=model, use_ann=use_ann
-    )
+    semhash_from_embeddings = SemHash.from_embeddings(embeddings=embeddings, records=train_texts, model=model)
 
     # Both should give same deduplication results
     result1 = semhash_from_records.self_deduplicate(threshold=0.95)