diff --git a/common/pinot/pinotQueryValidator.go b/common/pinot/pinotQueryValidator.go
index ec6024126f3..aa776ecd624 100644
--- a/common/pinot/pinotQueryValidator.go
+++ b/common/pinot/pinotQueryValidator.go
@@ -271,7 +271,7 @@ func (qv *VisibilityQueryValidator) processSystemKey(expr sqlparser.Expr) (strin
 			return "", fmt.Errorf("right comparison is invalid: %v", comparisonExpr.Right)
 		}
 		colValStr := string(colVal.Val)
-		return fmt.Sprintf("TEXT_MATCH(%s, '%s')", colNameStr, colValStr), nil
+		return fmt.Sprintf("TEXT_MATCH(%s, '/.*%s.*/')", colNameStr, colValStr), nil
 	}
 
 	if comparisonExpr.Operator != sqlparser.EqualStr && comparisonExpr.Operator != sqlparser.NotEqualStr {
diff --git a/common/pinot/pinotQueryValidator_test.go b/common/pinot/pinotQueryValidator_test.go
index 14608812176..a77f0782180 100644
--- a/common/pinot/pinotQueryValidator_test.go
+++ b/common/pinot/pinotQueryValidator_test.go
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ func TestValidateQuery(t *testing.T) {
 		},
 		"Case2-2: simple query with partial match": {
 			query:     "WorkflowID like 'wid'",
-			validated: "TEXT_MATCH(WorkflowID, 'wid')",
+			validated: "TEXT_MATCH(WorkflowID, '/.*wid.*/')",
 		},
 		"Case2-3: invalid simple query with partial match": {
 			query: "WorkflowID like wid",
@@ -95,7 +95,7 @@ func TestValidateQuery(t *testing.T) {
 		},
 		"Case6-5: complex query with partial match": {
 			query:     "RunID like '123' or WorkflowID like '123'",
-			validated: "(TEXT_MATCH(RunID, '123') or TEXT_MATCH(WorkflowID, '123'))",
+			validated: "(TEXT_MATCH(RunID, '/.*123.*/') or TEXT_MATCH(WorkflowID, '/.*123.*/'))",
 		},
 		"Case7: invalid sql query": {
 			query: "Invalid SQL",