> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://wiki.platelunchcollective.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Fine-Tuning

> The process of continuing to train a pre-trained foundation model on a smaller, task-specific dataset to adjust its behavior or knowledge without retraining from scratch.

*Technical implementation* · *AI Search Infrastructure*

## Definition

Fine-tuning is the process of continuing to train a pre-trained foundation model on a smaller, task-specific or domain-specific dataset to adjust its behavior, tone, or knowledge for a particular application. It modifies the model's weights — updating its parametric knowledge — without retraining from scratch.

## Why It Matters for AI Search

Fine-tuning is sometimes proposed as a fix for wrong or absent AI brand representations. In practice, it is not available to brands as a self-service action — the models that power ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google [AI Overviews](https://www.platelunchcollective.com/services/answer-engine-optimization) are not fine-tunable by external parties. Fine-tuning is relevant in enterprise deployments where a company runs its own model instance, or when evaluating AI vendors who offer fine-tuned models as a product. For most brands, the parametric correction path runs through training data sources — Wikipedia, knowledge graphs, widely-cited publications — not fine-tuning.

## Common Misconception

Brands can fine-tune ChatGPT or Perplexity to correct how those platforms represent them. They cannot — these are closed production systems. Fine-tuning applies to models a brand controls directly.

## Related Terms

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Parametric knowledge" href="/ai-search-glossary/parametric-knowledge" />

  <Card title="Pre-training" href="/ai-search-glossary/pre-training" />

  <Card title="Post-training" href="/ai-search-glossary/post-training" />

  <Card title="Training corpus" href="/ai-search-glossary/training-corpus" />

  <Card title="Foundation model" href="/ai-search-glossary/foundation-model" />
</CardGroup>

## Relevant Plate Lunch Collective Services

[AI SEO](https://www.platelunchcollective.com/services/ai-seo)  [AI Search Visibility Assessment](https://www.platelunchcollective.com/services/consulting/ai-search-visibility)