AI search is strongest when it can use the right evidence shape. Narrative questions fit passages. Numeric, contract, invoice, and policy questions often need rows, fields, effective dates, and conflict checks. That is where structured data and AI search work together.
Two Kinds of Evidence
- Text chunks: Best for explanations, procedures, definitions, and narrative context.
- Structured records: Better for totals, dates, entities, policies, line items, and bounded comparisons.
Business questions often need both: a computed or selected fact plus a passage that explains the rule behind it.
How FAQ Ally Uses This Pattern
FAQ Ally still centers on retrieval over trained documents. Where the stack includes structured extraction and routing, typed records can supplement or shape retrieval. The exact behavior depends on agent configuration, document types, training choices, and deployment.
Good Candidates for Structured Search
Invoices, receipts, statements, contracts, subscriptions, payment transactions, usage billing, and versioned policy rules are good candidates because users ask for facts that need consistent fields. Keep the original documents available so users can review evidence.
Related: Beyond RAG | AI invoice knowledge base | AI contract search