Retrieval-augmented generation (RAG)
The AI first looks up trusted documents, then answers using what it found.
For example
A bank's help chatbot that searches the bank's own policy documents before answering you.
Related terms
- Prompt The words you give an AI to tell it what to make.
- Prompt engineering The skill of writing clear instructions so AI gives useful answers.
- Reasoning model A model that works through a problem step by step before answering: slower, but better at maths, logic and planning.
- Semantic search Searching by meaning instead of exact words.
- System prompt Hidden instructions an app gives the AI before your message, setting its role and rules.
- Temperature A setting that controls how random or creative a model's answers are.