# What is Grounding?

Source: https://mushbloom.uk/resources/glossary/what-is-grounding.html

By Mushbloom. Published and updated: 2026-10-12.

## Definition & overview

Grounding connects a model’s response to supplied or retrieved evidence. It can improve factual reliability, but the evidence may still be incomplete, outdated or misinterpreted.

## Analogy & mental model

The assistant checks the company handbook rather than guessing the policy.

Use approved current sources, preserve references and review high-impact answers.

## Why it matters

Business answers must reflect actual policies, products and customer records, not a model’s plausible assumptions. Grounding connects output to usable evidence. It reduces some uncertainty but still requires checks that the selected evidence is current and that the generated answer follows it.

## Practical business example

A support answer uses the current delivery policy and explicitly says when the available documents do not cover an exception.

Illustrative scenario, not a client case study or promised result.

## How it works

1. Retrieve or supply approved material relevant to the request.

2. Ask the model to base its answer on that evidence and preserve references.

3. Check unsupported claims and route missing or conflicting evidence for review.

## Core components

- Approved source material

- Evidence-to-answer link

- Verification

A response can cite a real source yet draw the wrong conclusion from it.

## Grounding vs RAG

RAG is a retrieval-and-generation architecture. Grounding is the goal of anchoring claims to evidence and can also use directly supplied documents.

## Frequently asked questions

What does Grounding mean?
Grounding connects a model’s response to supplied or retrieved evidence. It can improve factual reliability, but the evidence may still be incomplete, outdated or misinterpreted.

How is it different from RAG?
RAG is a retrieval-and-generation architecture. Grounding is the goal of anchoring claims to evidence and can also use directly supplied documents.

What is a sensible first step for a small business?
Use approved current sources, preserve references and review high-impact answers. Retrieve or supply approved material relevant to the request.

What limitations should I keep in mind?
A response can cite a real source yet draw the wrong conclusion from it.

## Sources

Google Cloud: Retrieval-augmented generation: https://cloud.google.com/use-cases/retrieval-augmented-generation

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