03 · Retrieval, Evidence & Consensus

Retrieval

Finding the relevant information a system will use to answer.

Technical Term

Full explanation

Retrieval is the process an AI system uses to find relevant information from available sources before generating a response.

Why this matters

It is the step where a brand is either in the running or not. Everything downstream, citation, description, recommendation, only happens to sources that were retrieved.

Where this sits

Retrieval belongs to Retrieval, Evidence & Consensus, one of the seven layers of the Aingworth Glossary. Information exists, then it is retrieved, then sources are selected, then they corroborate one another, then consensus emerges. This is where Aingworth's Consensus Over Rankings thesis lives.

Related terms

Retrievability The degree to which a brand's information can actually be found and used. Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) Retrieving source material before generating an answer. Source Selection How a system decides which sources are worth using.
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