Lesson 3 of 8 · Retrieval Basics: Make AI Use Your Own Documents
In this lesson. Close vectors mean similar meaning, not truth.
What you will learn
- What an embedding is
- Ranking chunks
- Similar versus correct
Walkthrough
You will embed chunks and a question, then rank. Similar is not correct. You still need the later generate step to follow instructions. This lesson demystifies the math you need.
Work through the ideas in order. After each point, pause and connect it to a task you already do — a document, a workflow, or a feature you own. The goal of Retrieval Basics: Make AI Use Your Own Documents is usable skill, not a pile of notes.
If something is unclear, rewrite it in your own words before you continue. Teaching the step back to yourself is the fastest way to see gaps.
Practice
Rank five chunks for one question by hand after reading them. Then compare to a tool’s ranking if you have one.
Keep the first attempt small. A finished example you can reuse beats a perfect plan you never run.
Check your understanding
- Can you explain the goal of this lesson in one sentence to a teammate?
- Where would you apply “What an embedding is” in your own work this week?
- What would you change on a second pass of the practice?
Next. Continue to the following lesson when the practice has a real artifact, even a rough one.