Contextual knowledge
Information the model can read directly from the context supplied in the current request.
Illustrative conversation
- How did the model answer about a policy published after its training cutoff?
- The harness retrieved the new policy and supplied it as contextual knowledge for that request.
Definition
Contextual knowledge is information supplied directly at inference time through prompts, retrieved documents, files, or tool results. It can be current, private, and tied to a visible source without modifying the model's parameters. The model can use it only while the harness includes it in context, so reliable systems retrieve the right evidence again when a later request needs it.
Reviewed