AI Glossary
Knowledge Cutoff
What is Knowledge Cutoff?
The date after which an AI model has no training data, meaning it lacks knowledge of events, publications, or developments that occurred after that date. Knowledge cutoffs are a significant practical limitation for professionals who need current information. Retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) and web-search tools are the primary mitigations.
Example in practice
A strategist asking an AI to summarise a competitor's recent product launch would receive a "I have no information about this" response if the launch occurred after the model's knowledge cutoff — requiring a web-search-enabled AI tool instead.
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