How Glean CEO Arvind Jain Solved the Enterprise Search Problem – and What It Means for AI at Work
Oct 29, 2024
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Arvind Jain, CEO and co-founder of Glean, previously contributed to Google Search and co-founded Rubric. In this discussion, he shares how Glean revolutionizes enterprise search despite complex user permissions. Arvind highlights the integration of generative AI to enhance knowledge work, emphasizing the significance of personalized searches. He introduces concepts like Retrieval-Augmented Generation and agentic reasoning, envisioning a future where AI assistants boost workplace productivity by transforming knowledge retrieval and collaboration.
Glean uses advanced AI assistants to transform knowledge work by enhancing productivity through personalized search and context integration.
The complex nature of enterprise search necessitates robust data governance, ensuring relevant access while integrating various information sources efficiently.
Deep dives
The Future of Work with AI Assistants
Many tasks currently performed by knowledge workers are expected to be managed by advanced AI assistants within the next five years. The capabilities of these AI systems extend beyond basic tasks; they will utilize comprehensive company data, context from prior interactions, and reasoning skills to enhance productivity. This transformation envisions Glean as a pivotal workplace assistant that streamlines processes and improves decision-making for employees. Such advancements promise to redefine how individuals collaborate with technology, making AI an integral part of their daily work lives.
Challenges in Enterprise AI Integration
Building AI applications tailored for the enterprise context presents numerous challenges due to the complexities of data integration, permissions, and the vast array of information contained within various systems. Unlike public search engines, enterprise search requires sensitive handling of private information while ensuring relevant access based on user roles. Glean's approach involves constructing deep integrations with common enterprise platforms, enabling seamless retrieval of data while adhering to governance requirements. By overcoming these hurdles, Glean strives to provide a more efficient and functional AI-driven solution.
The Importance of Effective Search and Ranking
A robust ranking system is vital for Glean's search functionality, determining which documents are the most relevant for user queries. Various factors influence these rankings, such as document popularity, recency, and usage patterns within specific teams. By analyzing user interactions across different systems, Glean continually refines its understanding of which knowledge is most pertinent for different contexts. This comprehensive approach to ranking not only enhances user experience but also ensures that information retrieval is efficient and accurate.
RAG-Based Architecture for Enhanced AI Performance
The RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) architecture plays a crucial role in connecting an organization's private data with the capabilities of advanced language models. By enabling a retrieval system to find relevant documents based on user queries, Glean enhances the LLM’s ability to provide accurate, context-specific answers. Although implementing RAG can be complex and fraught with challenges related to data accuracy, it serves as a foundational technique for Glean to deliver effective AI applications. This architecture positions Glean as a leader in the market, empowering developers to build sophisticated applications efficiently.
Years before co-founding Glean, Arvind was an early Google employee who helped design the search algorithm. Today, Glean is building search and work assistants inside the enterprise, which is arguably an even harder problem. One of the reasons enterprise search is so difficult is that each individual at the company has different permissions and access to different documents and information, meaning that every search needs to be fully personalized. Solving this difficult ingestion and ranking problem also unlocks a key problem for AI: feeding the right context into LLMs to make them useful for your enterprise context. Arvind and his team are harnessing generative AI to synthesize, make connections, and turbo-change knowledge work. Hear Arvind’s vision for what kind of work we’ll do when work AI assistants reach their potential.
Hosted by: Sonya Huang and Pat Grady, Sequoia Capital
00:00 - Introduction
08:35 - Search rankings
11:30 - Retrieval-Augmented Generation
15:52 - Where enterprise search meets RAG
19:13 - How is Glean changing work?
26:08 - Agentic reasoning
31:18 - Act 2: application platform
33:36 - Developers building on Glean
35:54 - 5 years into the future
38:48 - Advice for founders
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