A LIKE predicate is transformed into a predicate that uses the = operator (and a NOT LIKE predicate is transformed into one that uses <>) when the character string does not contain any wildcards. For example: country LIKE 'Chile'

becomes country = 'Chile'

and country NOT LIKE 'Chile'

becomes country <> 'Chile'

Predicates that use the = operator are optimizable. Predicates that use the <> operator are sargable.