Title: Bottleneck to breakthrough: a cross-sectoral case study on transforming knowledge management with retrieval-augmented generation-AI

Authors: M.S. Narassima; V. Swadhithya; Rajesh R. Kumar; S. Rahul; Jashwanth K. Reddy

Addresses: Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai, India ' Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai, India ' Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai, India ' Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai, India ' Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai, India

Abstract: In the current knowledge-oriented world, subject matter experts (SMEs) are essential. However, their occasional unavailability leads to operational obstacles. This research examines the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) to bridge this from a socio-technical perspective. This offers a comparative analysis across seven industries for the deployment of a retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) AI to address domain-specific problems. Using a mixed-methods framework, we investigated the effectiveness of RAG-AI compared to human subject matter experts in terms of response times and accuracy. The empirical evidence suggests that the AI mechanism enhances performance, reducing the response duration from 63 minutes to 4 minutes, thereby showcasing remarkable progress in productivity. Conversely, the qualitative assessment indicates that although the AI demonstrates proficiency in retrieving and synthesising documented information, it yields answers that are only partially accurate for tasks necessitating contextual insight. The primary advantage of contemporary AI lies not in supplanting experts but rather in supplementing them.

Keywords: human-AI collaboration; retrieval-augmented generation; knowledge management; socio-technical systems.

DOI: 10.1504/IJGAIB.2026.151817

International Journal of Generative Artificial Intelligence in Business, 2026 Vol.1 No.1/2, pp.134 - 154

Received: 29 Jul 2025
Accepted: 03 Aug 2025
Published online: 20 Feb 2026 *