A retrieval system finds potentially relevant documents or passages. The application includes them in the model’s context so the generated answer can use that material.
A practical example
A company help assistant can retrieve sections of an internal manual before explaining how to request equipment.
What to remember
RAG does not guarantee correctness. Retrieval can miss a relevant page, select outdated material or provide a passage that the model misinterprets.
Put it into practice
Use the answer-checking guide to keep evidence and uncertainty visible when working with AI.