{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "DefinedTerm",
  "schema_version": "1.1",
  "content_item_id": "dictionary-retrieval.en",
  "translation_group_id": "dictionary-retrieval",
  "locale": "en",
  "type": "glossary",
  "section": "dictionary",
  "slug": "retrieval",
  "title": "Retrieval",
  "description": "How a system selects answer context and how that differs from crawling.",
  "direct_answer": "Retrieval is the stage at which a system selects documents or passages from an available corpus for further ranking or answer generation. It occurs after content becomes available to the system and is not the same as crawling, indexing, citation, or displaying a link.",
  "sections": [
    {
      "heading": "Working meaning",
      "paragraphs": [
        "Retrieval starts with a user or system query and ends with a candidate set or context passages. The corpus may be a web index, a private database, or uploaded files. Direct observation requires traces, disclosed documentation, or a controlled system."
      ],
      "source_ids": [
        "google-ai-search",
        "openai-bots"
      ]
    },
    {
      "heading": "How to distinguish",
      "paragraphs": [
        "A crawler fetches pages, an index stores or organizes an accessible representation, ranking orders candidates, and retrieval selects them for a particular task. Citation and attribution belong to the visible answer. One event is not evidence of the others."
      ],
      "source_ids": [
        "google-ai-search",
        "openai-bots"
      ]
    },
    {
      "heading": "Example",
      "paragraphs": [
        "OAI-SearchBot may request a page, but a server log does not show whether it entered the candidate set for a later ChatGPT Search answer. Conversely, a link in an answer is an observable outcome but does not expose every document the system considered."
      ]
    },
    {
      "heading": "Testing",
      "paragraphs": [
        "In an external audit, preserve identical queries, mode, language, region, answers, and final links; this measures outcomes compatible with retrieval, not the hidden stage itself. In your own system, also log the query, corpus version, candidate IDs, and scores."
      ]
    },
    {
      "heading": "Interpretation limit",
      "paragraphs": [
        "A missing link does not prove missing retrieval because used context may be hidden. A present link does not reveal why it was selected. External studies should therefore report observable answers and links, not internal retrieval without trace access."
      ]
    }
  ],
  "published_at": "2026-09-11",
  "modified_at": "2026-09-11",
  "data_through": "2026-09-11",
  "next_review_at": "2026-10-11",
  "author": "GeoAeoAle Editorial",
  "origin": "editorial",
  "publisher": "GeoAeoAle Editorial",
  "license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "canonical_url": "https://geoaeoale.com/en/dictionary/retrieval/",
  "claims": [
    {
      "claim_id": "retrieval-scope",
      "text": "A crawler visit confirms that a URL was requested, not that its contents were retrieved for a particular question.",
      "status": "inference",
      "confidence": "medium",
      "source_ids": [
        "google-ai-search",
        "openai-bots"
      ],
      "publication_status": "public",
      "confidentiality": "public"
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "source_id": "google-ai-search",
      "canonical_url": "https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/ai-features",
      "title": "Top ways to ensure your content performs well in Google's AI experiences",
      "publisher": "Google Search Central",
      "source_type": "official",
      "locale": "en",
      "published_at": null,
      "checked_at": "2026-09-11",
      "sha256": "c6b267ed42c26ee63151c87d27de45d8882a5b7dc77c3d3dece510b21d63c300",
      "license": "Source terms apply",
      "visibility": "public"
    },
    {
      "source_id": "openai-bots",
      "canonical_url": "https://developers.openai.com/api/docs/bots",
      "title": "Overview of OpenAI crawlers",
      "publisher": "OpenAI Developers",
      "source_type": "official",
      "locale": "en",
      "published_at": null,
      "checked_at": "2026-09-11",
      "sha256": "ccbdef3018bd08dceaacb7fe0ea07a2020d25e201ab84aa44625827aac925440",
      "license": "Source terms apply",
      "visibility": "public"
    }
  ],
  "related_slugs": [
    "ai-visibility",
    "source-attribution"
  ],
  "limitations": [
    "For closed search systems, retrieval is usually latent. Public measurements can test accessibility, outputs, and citations, but a causal claim about internal selection requires platform-side evidence."
  ],
  "corrections": []
}