When people talk about “AI using content”, they usually mean one of two very different things. Mixing them up leads to bad licensing decisions: either refusing AI altogether, or giving away far more than intended.
Training: content becomes part of the model
Training means feeding content to an AI model while it is being built, so that patterns from the content become part of the model itself. Once a model has been trained, the content cannot be taken back out, it is not cited when the model later answers, and the model’s owner decides where that model goes next.
Retrieval: content informs one answer at a time
Retrieval works the other way round. The model is already built. When someone asks a question, the AI tool looks up relevant passages from a source it is allowed to use, reads them, and answers. The content is used for that one answer, at that moment.
- Each request can be checked against a licence before anything is returned.
- The answer can cite the exact passage it relied on, so readers can verify it.
- Access can be granted, priced, measured and withdrawn, like any other subscription.
- Nothing needs to be handed over as a bulk copy.
Why the difference matters for licensing
Because retrieval is governed request by request, a content owner can say yes to AI answers while saying no, or not yet, to training. Retrieval can be licensed the way content has always been licensed: to named organizations and people, for a period, at a price, with usage reported. Training is a separate right, negotiated separately, if at all.
Questions worth asking any AI vendor
- Is my content retrieved per request, or copied into the system in bulk?
- Does the provider of the AI model train on data sent to it, and how long does it keep that data?
- Where does the model run?
- Will answers cite the passage they came from?
- Can I see who used what, and report it to my customers?
Where Razeta fits
Razeta is built for licensed retrieval. Content owners decide who may retrieve what, under which offer and licence, and every request is checked when it is made. Each AI model a workspace can use is listed with its facts, including whether its provider trains on the data sent to it, so owners can approve only the models that match their policy.
This guide explains a distinction, not the law. Licensing terms should be agreed with your own legal advisers.
