Retrieval-Enhanced Machine Learning: Synthesis and Opportunities
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Abstract (arXiv)
In the field of language modeling, models augmented with retrieval components have emerged as a promising solution to address several challenges faced in the natural language processing (NLP) field, including knowledge grounding, interpretability, and scalability. Despite the primary focus on NLP, we posit that the paradigm of retrieval-enhancement can be extended to a broader spectrum of machine learning (ML) such as computer vision, time series prediction, and computational biology. Therefore, this work introduces a formal framework of this paradigm, Retrieval-Enhanced Machine Learning (REML), by synthesizing the literature in various domains in ML with consistent notations which is missing from the current literature. Also, we found that while a number of studies employ retrieval components to augment their models, there is a lack of integration with foundational Information Retrieval (IR) research. We bridge this gap between the seminal IR research and contemporary REML studies by investigating each component that comprises the REML framework. Ultimately, the goal of this work is to equip researchers across various disciplines with a comprehensive, formally structured framework of retrieval-enhanced models, thereby fostering interdisciplinary future research.
Key facts. Cited by 11 papers in the map (data through 7 Oct 2026). Builds on 191 of its 258 references that are in the map. First posted on arXiv 17 Jul 2024.
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191 of 258 references.
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Citing papers per year: 2024: 6; 2025: 2; 2026: 3.
11 papers.
- 2024Long Context RAG Performance of Large Language Modelscited by 23
- 2024Comparing Retrieval-Augmentation and Parameter-Efficient Fine-Tuning for Privacy-Preserving Personalization of Large Language Modelscited by 20
- 2024Towards Fair RAG: On the Impact of Fair Ranking in Retrieval-Augmented Generationcited by 15
- 2024Learning to Rank for Multiple Retrieval-Augmented Models through Iterative Utility Maximizationcited by 14
- 2024Accelerating Retrieval-Augmented Generationcited by 14
- 2025CIIR@LiveRAG 2025: Optimizing Multi-Agent Retrieval Augmented Generation through Self-Trainingcited by 2
- 2026Who Benefits from RAG? The Role of Exposure, Utility and Attribution Biascited by 1
- 2026Multi-Agent Transactive Memorycited by 1
- 2024LML-DAP: Language Model Learning a Dataset for Data-Augmented Predictioncited by 0
- 2025TeamCMU at Touch'e: Adversarial Co-Evolution for Advertisement Integration and Detection in Conversational Searchcited by 0
- 2026Improving User Privacy in Personalized Generation: Client-Side Retrieval-Augmented Modification of Server-Side Generated Speculationscited by 0
- 2026Multi-Agent Transactive Memory18 Jun 2026
- 2026Who Benefits from RAG? The Role of Exposure, Utility and Attribution Bias25 Mar 2026
- 2026Improving User Privacy in Personalized Generation: Client-Side Retrieval-Augmented Modification of Server-Side Generated Speculations24 Jan 2026
- 2025TeamCMU at Touch'e: Adversarial Co-Evolution for Advertisement Integration and Detection in Conversational Search1 Jul 2025
- 2025CIIR@LiveRAG 2025: Optimizing Multi-Agent Retrieval Augmented Generation through Self-Training12 Jun 2025
- 2024Accelerating Retrieval-Augmented Generation14 Dec 2024
- 2024Long Context RAG Performance of Large Language Models5 Nov 2024
- 2024Learning to Rank for Multiple Retrieval-Augmented Models through Iterative Utility Maximization13 Oct 2024
- 2024LML-DAP: Language Model Learning a Dataset for Data-Augmented Prediction27 Sep 2024
- 2024Towards Fair RAG: On the Impact of Fair Ranking in Retrieval-Augmented Generation17 Sep 2024
- 2024Comparing Retrieval-Augmentation and Parameter-Efficient Fine-Tuning for Privacy-Preserving Personalization of Large Language Models14 Sep 2024