Dictionary term
Knowledge Cutoff
AI FoundationsBeginner
The knowledge cutoff is the date after which a model has no built-in knowledge of world events, because its training data stops there.
In plain English
An AI only knows about the world up to a certain date. Anything newer it won't know unless you give it the information.
Analogy
Like a textbook printed on a certain date; anything that happened afterward isn't in it.
Why it matters
It means Claude won't know recent prices, news, or product changes unless you supply that data via tools or grounding in your automation.
In practice
Asking about an event from last week may get an outdated answer unless you feed in current data.
Related terms
Sources
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