How to Optimize Documents

Prepare your documents for accurate, reliable RAG indexing and retrieval

Before ingesting documents into the Aisera Gen AI platform, structuring and preparing your content can significantly improve the quality of your RAG results. The following recommendations cover the key techniques for making your documents easier to index and more likely to return precise, relevant answers.

Use Clear Structure and Headings

Organize content with clear, descriptive headings to help the indexer identify sections relevant to specific questions. use consistent formatting, including font sizes, bold headings, and bullet points or numbered lists to enhance clarity and help the RAG model prioritize structured data.

Chunk Information Into Smaller Sections

Break the content into concise, well-defined sections or paragraphs, each focused on a single concept or area. Smaller chunks of information help the RAG model retrieve focused, specific answers instead of broad, unfocused content.

Use Key Terms and Synonyms

Repeat key concepts throughout the document and to increase the chances of the RAG model matching them to the user queries, without being redundant. Also include synonyms or alternate phrasing for key terms, since users may phrase the same question in different ways.

Use Question-Answer Format

Consider adding an FAQ section or framing content in question-answer format. This mimics the type of queries users may input, making it easier for the indexer to match queries to relevant content. You can also preemptively answer likely questions inline, which improves direct query matching.

Highlight Important Concepts

Use bold, italics, or bullet points to highlight key concepts, terms, or conclusions. The indexer may give higher priority to emphasized text.

Maintain Semantic Coherence

Keep related information grouped together within each section. If a section contains conflicting or unrelated information, the RAG model may struggle to determine relevance. Avoid mixing unrelated topics in the same paragraph or section.

Use Metadata (if applicable)

If your system supports it, use metadata such as tags or labels to classify the information. Metadata helps the RAG system understand the context and return more accurate results.

Provide Context for Complex Terms

Include brief explanations for complex or technical terms. This ensures the indexer captures the full context behind key concepts, which improves the quality of retrieved answers.

Avoid Redundancy

While repeating key terms is helpful, avoid duplicating the same content exactly; this can confuse both the indexer and the reader. Instead, reuse ky terms while expanding on their meaning as you cover related concepts. Excessive repetition can lead to vague or overly broad responses.

Test and Iterate

After structuring the document, test it within the RAG system. Analyze how well it answers different query types and adjust accordingly. You may need to add clarity, restructure sections, or refine content based on results.