Software
Retrieval-augmented generation finds passages in a document set the project names, then sends those passages to a language model with the user’s question. The model answers from that supplied text instead of from memory alone. Novatelia scopes this inside AI solutions. It is not a model Novatelia trained, and it does not publish an accuracy rate.
Revised 2026-10-10. Published by Novatelia. No individual author is named, because no personal credential is claimed for this explanation.
Key points
- The document set is the boundary of the answer.
- Retrieval can still fetch the wrong passage.
- The model provider and the data location belong in the scope.
Definition
RAG is a pipeline: index the agreed documents, retrieve a few passages, and ask a model to answer using them. It does not change the model’s weights.
How it works
Documents are split, indexed, and stored. A question retrieves the closest passages. The model is instructed to use those passages. If they do not contain the answer, the application should say so rather than invent one. That behavior has to be tested.
Architecture
- A named corpus and its owner.
- An index and a retrieval step.
- A model call, plus a refusal path when the passages are not enough.
Use cases
- Staff need answers from a controlled policy library.
- A support workflow should quote an internal procedure.
- A project must keep customer documents out of a public model’s training set.
Selection guidance
- Name the documents and who may see them.
- Choose the model the customer is allowed to call.
- Keep GPU clusters and model hosting on the AI infrastructure solution when the requirement is hardware, not a document workflow.
Questions
Did Novatelia train this model?
No. RAG uses a model the customer is permitted to call and documents the customer supplies. No proprietary foundation model is published, and no accuracy percentage is stated.
Is RAG the same as an AI agent?
No. RAG answers from retrieved passages. An agent is allowed to take named actions. They can be combined, and the AI solutions page keeps those scopes separate.
Related
More in Software
This page defines a term so a project can be scoped. It is not a certification, a test result, or a price. Partnerships are stated only on the partners page. The published address and telephone are the company contact, not a service-level commitment.
Describe the requirement
An RFQ saves a browser draft. It does not publish a price or issue a quotation reference.