Reranking

Plain-English explanation

Rerankers improve retrieval quality by scoring candidate passages against the query, often reducing irrelevant context in RAG systems.

Why it matters

Reranking matters because it affects how AI systems are designed, evaluated, priced, or trusted. Knowing the term helps you ask better questions and avoid vague implementation decisions.

• Ask how it changes quality, cost, speed, or safety.
• Look for concrete examples in the workflow you are building.
• Document the tradeoff before choosing a tool or architecture.