Term: Grounding
~6 min read
Estimated time: ~6 min read — for the in-app brief plus opening the primary source.
What this is
Grounding means tying the answer to sources you control, so a claim can be checked.
Everyday example
A product-claims assistant must point to the approved substantiation file, not “something the model remembers.” That requirement is grounding.
Grounding ties the answer to sources you trust — retrieval, tools, or a system of record.
- Ungrounded answers can sound finished and still be invented.
- Citations only help if they are real and checked.
- RAG is one way to ground; so is “look this up in SAP” via a tool.
- Demand to see the source on anything you will act on.
Next action: Require a source link or document name on the next AI brief that will go to a decision meeting.
What changes in how you lead
How decision rights, process, and ownership should change.
- Ungrounded generative output is not an official answer.
- Quality bar: if you cannot name the source, you cannot send it.
Compare related ideas
Grounding vs RAG
Grounding is the goal — answers that can be traced. RAG is a method: retrieve approved passages, then generate. You can also ground by tools, databases, or a human checklist.
Open RAGGrounding vs Hallucination
Hallucination is the failure (confident invention). Grounding is the design that makes invention harder to ship.
Open HallucinationDeep dive
Legal: every obligation cited to a clause.
Marketing: product claims linked to approved substantiation.
Finance: figures tied to the source pack, not model memory.
Support: policy answers linked to the live help article.
RAG is a common way to ground. Verification is the last-mile check. Neither is optional on high-stakes work.