Real-Time Retrieval
The live web search component of AI platforms that fetches current content at query time rather than relying on training data alone.
What it means
Real-time retrieval is the live web search component of RAG — AI platforms like Perplexity and ChatGPT Browse actively fetch web pages at the moment a user submits a query. This makes content freshness and crawlability critically important — a page indexed today can appear in AI citations tonight. It also means that price updates, stock changes, and new product launches can be reflected in AI recommendations faster than traditional Google indexing allows.
Why it matters for Shopify
Shopify merchants can update product information and have those updates reflected in AI citations within hours, making real-time retrieval the fastest path to new citation opportunities.