Versatile AI Risk Assessment

Glossary Systems and architecture

Vector database and retrieval

Stores vectors and retrieves relevant content for a subsequent model response.

As of: September 2026 · Glossary with 46 terms

What is Vector database and retrieval?

A vector database enables similarity searches over embeddings. Metadata can identify document versions, provenance and access permissions. Retrieval is the lookup step; RAG combines that lookup with subsequent answer generation.

Check that retrieval returns only approved content the requesting person is allowed to access. A result is not reliable merely because it ranks highly.

Sources for context: OWASP LLM08:2025

RetrievalRAGVector search

More terms from the subject area Systems and architecture.

GPAI and systemic risk Foundation models for many tasks, with their own duties and a separate tier for systemic risk. Agentic system (agentic AI) A system that uses a language model to carry out multi-step tasks on its own. Multi-agent system Several agents share a task and call each other.

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“Vector database and retrieval”. Versatile AI Risk Assessment, glossary of AI risk analysis, as of September 2026.
https://www.versatile-ai-risk-assessment.com/en/wissensbasis/glossary/vektordatenbank/

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