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What Is Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG)?

Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) is a technique that lets a large language model retrieve relevant external data at the time of a query, rather than relying only on knowledge learned during training.

How RAG works

A RAG system searches an external knowledge base — often a vector database of document embeddings — for content relevant to a user’s query, then feeds that retrieved content to the language model alongside the question to generate a grounded answer.

Why fresh web data matters for RAG

RAG systems are only as current as the data they can retrieve. Continuously updated, well-structured web data feeds are what let a RAG-based application answer questions about recent prices, listings, or events accurately.