Retrieval-Augmented Generation

Technical meaning. Retrieval-augmented generation, often called RAG, gives an AI model relevant source material before it writes an answer.

Why it matters. Giving AI source material before it answers.

Where people see it. You see it in internal knowledge assistants, support bots, document search tools, and AI systems that need current facts.

Small business example. A support assistant can retrieve the right policy page before drafting an answer to a customer.

Mistake to avoid. Do not call it solved because retrieval exists. Bad source documents still create bad answers.

Related terms. Agentic Workflow, Tool Calling, Function Calling.