Knowledge Cutoff

In one sentenceThe date a model's training data ends. It does not know about anything after that unless it can search the web.

What it means

A model learns from data collected up to a certain date. After that, its built-in knowledge stops. Ask about a newer event and it may guess, say it does not know, or give outdated information.

Many AI apps now add live web search to cover the gap, which is a form of RAG.

How to use it

• For anything recent (news, prices, someone's current job), use a tool with web search turned on, or paste the current information in yourself.
• Ask the model: "What is your knowledge cutoff?" before trusting it on time-sensitive topics.

Related terms

Training Data Grounding RAG Deep Research