THE SHORT ANSWER

What retrieval-augmented generation does, where it helps and why source quality still matters.

Find evidence before writing

Retrieval-augmented generation adds a search step before a model writes its answer. For an expenses question, the application retrieves relevant passages from an approved policy and supplies them with the question. The intention is to ground the response in your material rather than rely on general model knowledge. Retrieval quality is therefore part of answer quality.

Prepare the collection

Remove obsolete versions and decide which source is authoritative. Split text into useful passages without separating a rule from its exceptions. Preserve titles, effective dates and source links. A polished answer cannot repair contradictory guidance. Give each important document an owner who can maintain it when the underlying policy changes.

Decision flow: Question, then Find sources, then Draft answer, then Check evidence
Question Find sources Draft answer Check evidence. This diagram summarises the approach; it is not a substitute for checking your project’s specific requirements.

Check citations and permissions

A citation helps only if it supports the associated statement. Test questions answered by one source, several sources and no source. The assistant should acknowledge missing evidence. Apply the user’s permissions before retrieval; do not ask the model to hide restricted information after it has already received it.

Illustrative ai photography accompanying the guide
Illustrative stock photography · AI & automation

Diagnose failures separately

Record whether the right passage was retrieved and whether the generated answer represented it correctly. These failures need different fixes. Start with a small curated collection and a representative question set. RAG can improve grounding, but it cannot guarantee correctness or remove review from consequential decisions.

PUT IT INTO PRACTICE

Your next working session.

  • Name a document owner
  • Test questions with no answer
  • Check access before retrieval

Bring one real, anonymised example to the discussion. Work through the choices above with the person responsible for the outcome, record the unresolved questions and agree who will investigate them.

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Elite Apps editorial · Practical planning guidance. Examples and diagrams are illustrative; implementation depends on your requirements. Technical and supplier guidance can change.