Learning objectives
By the end of this lesson you will be able to:
- Explain what "grounded" means in one sentence.
- Recognise the signs of an unsupported guess.
- Know what to check before trusting an answer.
Two ways to answer
A language model on its own writes fluent text from patterns it has learned. Asked about your price, it can produce a number that sounds right and is simply wrong.
A grounded system first looks the facts up in your records, then answers using only what it found, and shows where the answer came from.
How Anchor grounds a customer answer
- It searches your catalog for the relevant products, matching keywords and meaning.
- It writes the reply from what it found and shows the product it used.
- Where you recorded a compatibility rule, the rule decides whether two products fit.
- If nothing relevant is found, it says it cannot confirm that and hands the conversation to your team.
Grounding reduces errors; it does not remove them
A grounded answer is only as good as the record behind it. An out-of-date price gives an out-of-date answer, and the assistant can still misread a question. Checking answers stays part of the job.
Illustrative example · fictional data
The same question, two answers
A made-up question to a made-up shop.
- Question: "Does the brass floor lamp come in black?"
- Unsupported guess: "Yes, it comes in black and white." (Nothing in the records says so.)
- Grounded answer: "The brass floor lamp is listed in brass only." It shows the product record it used.
- If the lamp were not in the catalog at all, the grounded answer would be: "I can’t confirm that; I’ll pass this to the team."
Practical exercise · planning
Spot the guess
- Pick one of your products and write down its real price, stock and colours.
- Write one answer that uses only those facts, and one that adds a plausible detail you never recorded.
- Circle the added detail: that is what an unsupported guess looks like.
Recap
- Grounded answers come from your records and show their source.
- When nothing relevant is found, Anchor hands off instead of guessing.
- Records can be out of date, so answers still need checking.
Knowledge check
Three questions. Choose an answer, check it and read the explanation; you can try again as often as you like.
Your answers are not saved or sent anywhere.
Further reading
Finish this lesson
When you have read the lesson and tried the exercise and knowledge check, mark it complete. Progress is saved on this browser only.