Answer: It maintains a persistent data structure that keeps track of the values of the table’s columns in each of its micro-partitions.

The correct answer is B because the search optimization service creates and maintains a persistent data structure called a search access path that tracks which values of a table's columns are in each micro-partition, allowing Snowflake to skip irrelevant micro-partitions during scans. This directly improves query performance for point lookups and selective queries. Option A is incorrect because it describes pruning based on joins, not the search optimization service. Option C is incorrect as it refers to local disk caching, which is unrelated to the search optimization service. Option D is incorrect because it describes query result caching, not the search optimization service's functionality. The community discussion with 100% consensus and upvoted comments referencing official Snowflake documentation confirms B as the correct answer.

Author: LeetQuiz Editorial Team