Grounding

Grounding connects an AI response to specific information, rules, tools, or real-world context instead of relying only on patterns learned during training. A grounded assistant might retrieve an approved policy, quote a supplied document, check a database, or use a calculator before answering. This can improve relevance and reduce unsupported claims, especially when facts are current or organization-specific. Grounding does not make an output automatically correct: the source may be outdated, retrieval may miss the best passage, and the model can still misinterpret evidence. Reliable systems preserve citations, restrict source access, evaluate answer support, and distinguish retrieved facts from generated conclusions.