Retrieve API Overview

Introduction

Welcome to the eGain Retrieve API Guide. The Retrieve API enables enterprises to directly access relevant content chunks from their organizational knowledge sources. It is designed for scenarios where developers want granular control over retrieved information, such as powering custom search, analytics, or retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) pipelines.

In addition to raw chunk retrieval, the API can return Certified Answers if it meets the 'Certified Answer' threshold score. Responses include relevance scores, metadata, and references to maintain transparency and flexibility. By leveraging the Retrieve API, organizations can build tailored experiences while retaining confidence in the source material.

What It’s Used For

Organizations use the Retrieve API to surface knowledge in a controlled and customizable way. Key benefits include:

  • Direct access to content chunks for custom search and analytics applications.
  • Feeding enterprise knowledge into RAG or AI pipelines while retaining traceability.
  • Enabling custom workflows that require precise filtering, scoring, and metadata.
  • Ensuring compliance and auditability by exposing references to source material.

Common Use Cases

  • Search-First Applications : Build knowledge search interfaces where users browse relevant document snippets with transparency.
  • RAG Pipelines : Feed retrieved chunks into large language models or other AI systems for augmented response generation.
  • Policy & Compliance Retrieval : Allow employees to quickly retrieve relevant regulatory or policy content while keeping traceability to sources.
  • Customer Support Assist : Supply chatbots or agents with content snippets that inform responses without requiring full answers.
  • Analytics and Insights : Use retrieved chunks for trend analysis, FAQ identification, or content gap detection.

Overall Workflow

  1. Query Submitted
    • A request is sent to the API via web, mobile, chatbot, or other applications.
  2. Retrieve Relevant Chunks
    • The API searches configured knowledge sources to identify content chunks most relevant to the query.
    • Optional filters can be applied to narrow results by language, topic IDs, tags, or user context.
  3. Certified Answer
    • The API attempts to return a Certified Answer along with retrieved chunks.
  4. Return Results
    • Each chunk is returned with metadata, relevance scores, and source references for transparency.

Next Steps

Explore the Retrieve API in more depth:

  • Filters : Learn how to refine retrieval results by language, tags, topics, or user context.
  • Certified Answers : Understand how the API can return high-confidence, source-grounded answers.