# Role of Databases in GenAI Applications

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.04847 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.04847/

## Key facts

- No citing papers in the map yet (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 7 of its 37 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 5 Mar 2025.

## Builds on (most cited first, 7 of 7)

- [Learning Transferable Visual Models From Natural Language Supervision](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2103.00020/) (2021)
- [GPT-4 Technical Report](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.08774/) (2023)
- [Training language models to follow instructions with human feedback](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2203.02155/) (2022)
- [Retrieval-Augmented Generation for Knowledge-Intensive NLP Tasks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2005.11401/) (2020)
- [Evaluating Large Language Models Trained on Code](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2107.03374/) (2021)
- [Billion-scale similarity search with GPUs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1702.08734/) (2017)
- [Clipper: A Low-Latency Online Prediction Serving System](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1612.03079/) (2016)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Generative AI (GenAI) is transforming industries by enabling intelligent content generation, automation, and decision-making. However, the effectiveness of GenAI applications depends significantly on efficient data storage, retrieval, and contextual augmentation. This paper explores the critical role of databases in GenAI workflows, emphasizing the importance of choosing the right database architecture to optimize performance, accuracy, and scalability. It categorizes database roles into conversational context (key-value/document databases), situational context (relational databases/data lakehouses), and semantic context (vector databases) each serving a distinct function in enriching AI-generated responses. Additionally, the paper highlights real-time query processing, vector search for semantic retrieval, and the impact of database selection on model efficiency and scalability. By leveraging a multi-database approach, GenAI applications can achieve more context-aware, personalized, and high-performing AI-driven solutions.