Data Ingestion & Knowledge Sources
✅ Multi-Source Support – Databases, blob storage, PDF, DOCX, HTML via Azure pipelines ✅ Auto-Sync – Azure services keep indexed information current automatically
✅ Embeddings API – text-embedding models generate vectors for semantic search workflows⚠️ DIY Pipeline – No ready-made ingestion; build chunking, indexing, refreshing yourselfAzure File Search – Beta preview tool accepts uploads for semantic searchManual Architecture – Embed docs → vector DB → retrieve chunks at query time
1,400+ file formats – PDF, DOCX, Excel, PowerPoint, Markdown, HTML + auto-extraction from ZIP/RAR/7Z archivesWebsite crawling – Sitemap indexing with configurable depth for help docs, FAQs, and public contentMultimedia transcription – AI Vision, OCR, YouTube/Vimeo/podcast speech-to-text built-inCloud integrations – Google Drive, SharePoint, OneDrive, Dropbox, Notion with auto-syncKnowledge platforms – Zendesk, Freshdesk, HubSpot, Confluence, Shopify connectorsMassive scale – 60M words (Standard) / 300M words (Premium) per bot with no performance degradation
✅ Azure Ecosystem – SDKs, REST APIs, Logic Apps, PowerApps (connectors )✅ Native Channels – Web widgets, Slack, Microsoft Teams integration✅ Low-Code Options – Custom workflows via low-code tools or full API
⚠️ No First-Party Channels – Build Slack bots, widgets, integrations yourself or use third-party✅ API Flexibility – Run GPT anywhere; channel-agnostic engine for custom implementationsCommunity Tools – Zapier, community Slack bots exist but aren't official OpenAIManual Wiring – Everything is code-based; no out-of-the-box UI or connectors
Website embedding – Lightweight JS widget or iframe with customizable positioningCMS plugins – WordPress, WIX, Webflow, Framer, SquareSpace native support5,000+ app ecosystem – Zapier connects CRMs, marketing, e-commerce toolsMCP Server – Integrate with Claude Desktop, Cursor, ChatGPT, WindsurfOpenAI SDK compatible – Drop-in replacement for OpenAI API endpointsLiveChat + Slack – Native chat widgets with human handoff capabilities
✅ RAG-Powered Answers – Semantic search + LLM generation for grounded responses✅ Hybrid Search – Keyword + semantic with optional ranking for relevance✅ Multilingual – Conversation history management from Azure portal
✅ Multi-Turn Chat – GPT-4/3.5 handle conversations; you resend history for context⚠️ No Agent Memory – OpenAI doesn't store conversational state; you manage itFunction Calling – Model triggers your functions (search endpoints); you wire retrievalChatGPT Web UI – Separate from API; not brand-customizable for private data
✅ #1 accuracy – Median 5/5 in independent benchmarks, 10% lower hallucination than OpenAI✅ Source citations – Every response includes clickable links to original documents✅ 93% resolution rate – Handles queries autonomously, reducing human workload✅ 92 languages – Native multilingual support without per-language config✅ Lead capture – Built-in email collection, custom forms, real-time notifications✅ Human handoff – Escalation with full conversation context preserved
✅ Full UI Control – Custom CSS, logos, welcome messages for branding✅ White-Labeling – Domain restrictions via Azure configuration✅ Search Behavior – Custom analyzers, synonym maps (config options )
⚠️ No Turnkey UI – Build branded front-end yourself; no theming layer providedSystem Messages – Set tone/style via prompts; white-label chat requires developmentChatGPT Custom Instructions – Apply only inside ChatGPT app, not embedded widgetsDeveloper Project – All branding, UI customization is your responsibility
Full white-labeling included – Colors, logos, CSS, custom domains at no extra cost2-minute setup – No-code wizard with drag-and-drop interfacePersona customization – Control AI personality, tone, response style via pre-promptsVisual theme editor – Real-time preview of branding changesDomain allowlisting – Restrict embedding to approved sites only
✅ Azure OpenAI – GPT-4, GPT-3.5 via native Azure integration✅ Prompt Control – Customizable templates and system prompts✅ Model Flexibility – Azure-hosted or external LLMs via API
✅ GPT-4 Family – GPT-4 (8k/32k), GPT-4 Turbo (128k), GPT-4o top-tier performance✅ GPT-3.5 Family – GPT-3.5 Turbo (4k/16k) cost-effective for high-volume use⚠️ OpenAI-Only – Cannot swap to Claude, Gemini; locked to OpenAI ecosystemManual Routing – Developer chooses model per request; no automatic selection✅ Frequent Upgrades – Regular releases with larger context windows and better benchmarks
GPT-5.1 models – Latest thinking models (Optimal & Smart variants)GPT-4 series – GPT-4, GPT-4 Turbo, GPT-4o availableClaude 4.5 – Anthropic's Opus available for EnterpriseAuto model routing – Balances cost/performance automaticallyZero API key management – All models managed behind the scenes
Developer Experience ( A P I & S D Ks)
✅ Multi-Language SDKs – C#, Python, Java, JavaScript (Azure SDKs )✅ Documentation – Tutorials, sample code for index management and queries✅ Azure AD Auth – Secure API access via Azure portal
✅ Excellent Docs – Official Python/Node.js SDKs; comprehensive API reference and guidesFunction Calling – Simplifies prompting; you build RAG pipeline (indexing, retrieval, assembly)Framework Support – Works with LangChain/LlamaIndex (third-party tools, not OpenAI products)⚠️ No Reference Architecture – Vast community examples but no official RAG blueprint
REST API – Full-featured for agents, projects, data ingestion, chat queriesPython SDK – Open-source customgpt-client with full API coveragePostman collections – Pre-built requests for rapid prototypingWebhooks – Real-time event notifications for conversations and leadsOpenAI compatible – Use existing OpenAI SDK code with minimal changes
✅ Enterprise Scale – Millisecond responses under heavy load (Microsoft Mechanics )✅ High Relevance – Hybrid search, semantic ranking, configurable scoring✅ Global Infrastructure – Low latency, high throughput worldwide
✅ GPT-4 Top-Tier – Leading performance for language tasks; requires RAG for domain accuracy⚠️ Hallucination Risk – Can hallucinate on private/recent data without retrieval implementationWell-Built RAG Delivers – High accuracy achievable with proper indexing, chunking, prompt designLatency Considerations – Larger models (128k context) add latency; scales well under load
Sub-second responses – Optimized RAG with vector search and multi-layer cachingBenchmark-proven – 13% higher accuracy, 34% faster than OpenAI Assistants APIAnti-hallucination tech – Responses grounded only in your provided contentOpenGraph citations – Rich visual cards with titles, descriptions, images99.9% uptime – Auto-scaling infrastructure handles traffic spikes
Customization & Flexibility ( Behavior & Knowledge)
✅ Index Control – Custom analyzers, tokenizers, synonym maps for domain-specific search✅ Cognitive Skills – Plugin custom skills during indexing for specialized processing✅ LLM Tuning – Prompt customization for style and tone control
✅ Fine-Tuning Available – GPT-3.5 fine-tuning for style; knowledge injection via RAG code⚠️ Content Freshness – Re-embed, re-fine-tune, or pass context each call; developer overheadTool Calling Power – Powerful moderation/tools but requires thoughtful design; no unified UIMaximum Flexibility – Extremely flexible for general AI; lacks built-in document management
Live content updates – Add/remove content with automatic re-indexingSystem prompts – Shape agent behavior and voice through instructionsMulti-agent support – Different bots for different teamsSmart defaults – No ML expertise required for custom behavior
✅ Pay-As-You-Go – Tier, partition, replica based (Pricing Guide )✅ Free Tier – Development/small projects; production tiers available✅ On-Demand Scaling – Add replicas/partitions; enterprise discounts available
✅ Pay-As-You-Go – $0.0015/1K tokens GPT-3.5; ~$0.03-0.06/1K GPT-4 token pricing⚠️ Scale Costs – Great low usage; bills spike at scale with rate limitsNo Flat Rate – Consumption-based only; cover external hosting (vector DB) separatelyEnterprise Contracts – Higher concurrency, compliance features, dedicated capacity via sales
Standard: $99/mo – 60M words, 10 botsPremium: $449/mo – 300M words, 100 botsAuto-scaling – Managed cloud scales with demandFlat rates – No per-query charges
✅ Enterprise Compliance – SOC, ISO, GDPR, HIPAA, FedRAMP (Azure Compliance )✅ Data Encryption – Transit/rest, customer-managed keys, Private Link isolation✅ Azure AD RBAC – Granular role-based access control and authentication
✅ API Data Privacy – Not used for training; 30-day retention for abuse checks✅ Encryption Standard – TLS in transit, at rest encryption; ChatGPT Enterprise adds SOC 2/SSO⚠️ Developer Responsibility – You secure user inputs, logs, auth, HIPAA/GDPR complianceNo User Portal – Build auth/access control in your own front-end
SOC 2 Type II + GDPR – Third-party audited complianceEncryption – 256-bit AES at rest, SSL/TLS in transitAccess controls – RBAC, 2FA, SSO, domain allowlistingData isolation – Never trains on your data
Observability & Monitoring
✅ Portal Dashboard – Track indexes, query performance, usage at glance✅ Azure Monitor – Custom alerts, dashboards (Azure Monitor )✅ Export Logs – API-based log and analytics export for analysis
⚠️ Basic Dashboard – Tracks monthly token spend, rate limits; no conversation analyticsDIY Logging – Log Q&A traffic yourself; no specialized RAG metricsStatus Page – Uptime monitoring, error codes, rate-limit headers availableCommunity Solutions – Datadog/Splunk setups shared; you build monitoring pipeline
Real-time dashboard – Query volumes, token usage, response timesCustomer Intelligence – User behavior patterns, popular queries, knowledge gapsConversation analytics – Full transcripts, resolution rates, common questionsExport capabilities – API export to BI tools and data warehouses
✅ Microsoft Support – Docs, Microsoft Learn modules, active community forums✅ Enterprise SLAs – Dedicated channels for mission-critical deployments✅ Developer Community – Large Azure ecosystem sharing best practices
✅ Massive Community – Thorough docs, code samples; direct support requires EnterpriseThird-Party Frameworks – Slack bots, LangChain, LlamaIndex building blocks aboundBroad AI Focus – Text, speech, images; RAG is one of many use casesEnterprise Premium Support – Success managers, SLAs, compliance environment for Enterprise customers
Comprehensive docs – Tutorials, cookbooks, API referencesEmail + in-app support – Under 24hr response timePremium support – Dedicated account managers for Premium/EnterpriseOpen-source SDK – Python SDK, Postman, GitHub examples5,000+ Zapier apps – CRMs, e-commerce, marketing integrations
Additional Considerations
✅ Deep Integration – End-to-end solutions within Azure platform✅ Enterprise-Grade – Fine-grained tuning with proven reliability⚠️ Azure-First – Best for organizations already invested in Azure ecosystem
✅ Maximum Freedom – Best for bespoke AI solutions beyond RAG (code gen, creative writing)✅ Regular Upgrades – Frequent model releases with bigger context windows keep tech current⚠️ Coding Required – Near-infinite customization comes with setup complexity; developer-friendly onlyCost Management – Token pricing cost-effective at small scale; maintaining RAG adds ongoing effort
Time-to-value – 2-minute deployment vs weeks with DIYAlways current – Auto-updates to latest GPT modelsProven scale – 6,000+ organizations, millions of queriesMulti-LLM – OpenAI + Claude reduces vendor lock-in
No- Code Interface & Usability
✅ Azure Portal – Create indexes, tweak analyzers, monitor performance intuitively✅ Low-Code Tools – Logic Apps, PowerApps for non-developers⚠️ Learning Curve – Advanced setups require technical expertise vs turnkey solutions
⚠️ Not No-Code – Requires coding embeddings, retrieval, chat UI; no-code OpenAI options minimalChatGPT Web App – User-friendly but not embeddable with your data/branding by defaultThird-Party Tools – Zapier/Bubble offer partial integrations; not official OpenAI solutionsDeveloper-Focused – Extremely capable for coders; less for non-technical teams wanting self-serve
2-minute deployment – Fastest time-to-value in the industryWizard interface – Step-by-step with visual previewsDrag-and-drop – Upload files, paste URLs, connect cloud storageIn-browser testing – Test before deploying to productionZero learning curve – Productive on day one
Market Position – Enterprise AI platform with production-ready RAG at global scaleTarget Customers – Azure-invested orgs needing SOC/ISO/GDPR/HIPAA/FedRAMP compliance, 99.999% SLAsKey Competitors – AWS Bedrock, Google Vertex AI, OpenAI Enterprise, Coveo, VectaraCompetitive Advantages – Azure ecosystem integration, hybrid search, native OpenAI, global infrastructureBest Fit – Organizations using Azure/Office 365 requiring enterprise compliance and regional residency
Market Position – Leading AI model provider; top GPT models as custom AI building blocksTarget Customers – Dev teams building bespoke solutions; enterprises needing flexibility beyond RAGKey Competitors – Anthropic Claude API, Google Gemini, Azure AI, AWS Bedrock, RAG platforms✅ Competitive Advantages – Top GPT-4 performance, frequent upgrades, excellent docs, massive ecosystem, Enterprise SOC 2/SSO✅ Pricing Advantage – Pay-as-you-go highly cost-effective at small scale; best value low-volume useUse Case Fit – Ideal for custom AI requiring flexibility; less suitable for turnkey RAG without dev resources
Market position – Leading RAG platform balancing enterprise accuracy with no-code usability. Trusted by 6,000+ orgs including Adobe, MIT, Dropbox.Key differentiators – #1 benchmarked accuracy • 1,400+ formats • Full white-labeling included • Flat-rate pricingvs OpenAI – 10% lower hallucination, 13% higher accuracy, 34% fastervs Botsonic/Chatbase – More file formats, source citations, no hidden costsvs LangChain – Production-ready in 2 min vs weeks of development
✅ Azure OpenAI – GPT-4, GPT-4o, GPT-3.5 Turbo native integration✅ Anthropic Claude – Available via Microsoft Foundry (late 2024/early 2025)✅ Multi-Model Platform – Only cloud with both Claude and GPT models✅ Model Flexibility – Azure-hosted or external LLMs via API✅ Prompt Templates – Customizable prompts for specific use cases✅ Enterprise Integration – Models integrated with Azure security/compliance/governance
✅ GPT-4 Family – GPT-4 (8k/32k), GPT-4 Turbo (128k), GPT-4o - top language understanding/generation✅ GPT-3.5 Family – GPT-3.5 Turbo (4k/16k) cost-effective with good performance✅ Frequent Upgrades – Regular releases with improved capabilities, larger context windows⚠️ OpenAI-Only – Cannot swap to Claude, Gemini; locked to OpenAI models✅ Fine-Tuning – GPT-3.5 fine-tuning for domain-specific customization with training data
OpenAI – GPT-5.1 (Optimal/Smart), GPT-4 seriesAnthropic – Claude 4.5 Opus/Sonnet (Enterprise)Auto-routing – Intelligent model selection for cost/performanceManaged – No API keys or fine-tuning required
✅ Agentic Retrieval (2024) – LLM-powered query decomposition into parallel subqueries for chat✅ Hybrid Search – Vector + keyword + semantic with relevance tuning✅ Vector Store – Long-term memory, knowledge base for RAG apps✅ Framework Support – Azure Semantic Kernel, LangChain for RAG workflows✅ Import Wizard – Automates parsing, chunking, enrichment, embedding pipeline✅ Query Enhancement – Rewriting, synonyms, paraphrasing, spelling correction
⚠️ NO Built-In RAG – LLM models only; build entire RAG pipeline yourself✅ Embeddings API – text-embedding-ada-002 and newer for vector embeddings/semantic searchDIY Architecture – Embed docs → external vector DB → retrieve → inject into promptAzure Assistants Preview – Beta File Search tool; minimal, preview-stage onlyFramework Integration – Works with LangChain/LlamaIndex (third-party, not OpenAI products)⚠️ Developer Responsibility – Chunking, indexing, retrieval optimization all require custom code
GPT-4 + RAG – Outperforms OpenAI in independent benchmarksAnti-hallucination – Responses grounded in your content onlyAutomatic citations – Clickable source links in every responseSub-second latency – Optimized vector search and cachingScale to 300M words – No performance degradation at scale
✅ Enterprise Search – 40% productivity boost (9 hours/week saved per employee)✅ Customer Service – Self-service chatbots, real-time agent support, coaching, summarization✅ RAG Applications – 50%+ Fortune 500 companies (OpenAI, Otto, KPMG, PETRONAS)✅ Knowledge Management – AI-driven insights for organizational knowledge bases✅ Multi-Industry – Retail, financial, healthcare, manufacturing, government sectors
✅ Custom AI Applications – Bespoke solutions requiring maximum flexibility beyond pre-packaged platforms✅ Code Generation – GitHub Copilot-style tools, IDE integrations, automated review✅ Creative Writing – Content generation, marketing copy, storytelling at scale✅ Data Analysis – Natural language queries over structured data, report generationCustomer Service – Custom chatbots integrated with business systems and knowledge bases⚠️ NOT IDEAL FOR – Non-technical teams wanting turnkey RAG chatbot without coding
Customer support – 24/7 AI handling common queries with citationsInternal knowledge – HR policies, onboarding, technical docsSales enablement – Product info, lead qualification, educationDocumentation – Help centers, FAQs with auto-crawlingE-commerce – Product recommendations, order assistance
✅ Certifications – SOC, ISO, GDPR, HIPAA, FedRAMP (Azure Compliance )✅ Encryption – Transit (SSL/TLS) and rest with customer-managed keys✅ Private Link – Enhanced isolation for security✅ Azure AD RBAC – Granular access control with secure authentication✅ 99.999% SLA – Enterprise reliability with regional data residency✅ Security Monitoring – Continuous oversight via Azure Monitor
✅ API Data Privacy – Not used for training; 30-day retention for abuse checks only✅ ChatGPT Enterprise – SOC 2 Type II, SSO, stronger privacy, enterprise-grade security✅ Encryption – TLS in transit, at rest encryption with enterprise standards✅ GDPR/HIPAA – DPA for GDPR; BAA for HIPAA; regional data residency available✅ Zero-Retention Option – Enterprise/API customers can opt for no data retention⚠️ Developer Responsibility – User auth, input validation, logging entirely on you
SOC 2 Type II + GDPR – Regular third-party audits, full EU compliance256-bit AES encryption – Data at rest; SSL/TLS in transitSSO + 2FA + RBAC – Enterprise access controls with role-based permissionsData isolation – Never trains on customer dataDomain allowlisting – Restrict chatbot to approved domains
✅ Free Tier – 50 MB storage for dev/small projects✅ Basic Tier – Entry production with fixed storage (no partition scaling)✅ Standard Tiers – Scalable throughput via partitions and replicas✅ Storage Optimized – High-volume data at reduced $/TB✅ 2024 Capacity Boost – 5-6x storage increase free (Pricing )✅ Tier Flexibility (2024) – Change tiers without downtime; enterprise discounts available
✅ Pay-As-You-Go – $0.0015/1K tokens GPT-3.5; ~$0.03-0.06/1K GPT-4 token pricing✅ No Platform Fees – Pure consumption pricing; no subscriptions, monthly minimumsRate Limits by Tier – Usage tiers auto-increase limits as spending grows⚠️ Cost at Scale – Bills spike without optimization; high-volume needs token managementExternal Costs – RAG incurs vector DB (Pinecone, Weaviate) and hosting costs✅ Best Value For – Low-volume use or teams with existing infrastructure
Standard: $99/mo – 10 chatbots, 60M words, 5K items/botPremium: $449/mo – 100 chatbots, 300M words, 20K items/botEnterprise: Custom – SSO, dedicated support, custom SLAs7-day free trial – Full Standard access, no chargesFlat-rate pricing – No per-query charges, no hidden costs
✅ Enterprise Support – Microsoft infrastructure with dedicated mission-critical channels✅ SLA Plans – Guaranteed response times and uptime commitments✅ Microsoft Learn – Docs, tutorials, modules (docs )✅ Community Forums – Active Azure developers sharing best practices✅ Portal Dashboard – Integrated monitoring for indexes, queries, analytics✅ Official SDKs – REST APIs, C#, Python, Java, JavaScript (SDKs )
✅ Excellent Documentation – Comprehensive guides, API reference, code samples at platform.openai.com✅ Official SDKs – Well-maintained Python, Node.js libraries with examples✅ Massive Community – Extensive tutorials, LangChain/LlamaIndex integrations, ecosystem resources⚠️ Limited Direct Support – Community forums for standard users; Enterprise gets premium supportOpenAI Cookbook – Practical examples and recipes for common use cases including RAG
Documentation hub – Docs, tutorials, API referencesSupport channels – Email, in-app chat, dedicated managers (Premium+)Open-source – Python SDK, Postman, GitHub examplesCommunity – User community + 5,000 Zapier integrations
Limitations & Considerations
⚠️ Free Tier Limits – 50 MB storage, shared resources, no partitions/replicas⚠️ No Pause/Stop – Pay continuous fixed rate; resources allocated when created⚠️ Vector Limitations – Index sizes restricted by tier memory; regional infrastructure gaps⚠️ Learning Curve – Advanced customizations require trial-and-error, technical expertise⚠️ Cost Structure – Restrictive for small teams; costs scale quickly with usage⚠️ Azure Lock-In – Less competitive for non-Azure customers; best for Azure ecosystem
⚠️ NO Built-In RAG – Entire retrieval infrastructure must be built by developers⚠️ Developer-Only – Requires coding expertise; no no-code interface for non-technical teams⚠️ Rate Limits – Usage tiers start restrictive (Tier 1: 500 RPM GPT-4)⚠️ Model Lock-In – Cannot use Claude, Gemini; tied to OpenAI ecosystem⚠️ NO Chat UI – ChatGPT web interface not embeddable or customizable for business⚠️ Cost at Scale – Token pricing can spike without optimization; needs cost management
Managed service – Less control over RAG pipeline vs build-your-ownModel selection – OpenAI + Anthropic only; no Cohere, AI21, open-sourceReal-time data – Requires re-indexing; not ideal for live inventory/pricesEnterprise features – Custom SSO only on Enterprise plan
✅ Agentic Retrieval (2024) – Multi-query pipeline for complex chat questions (docs )✅ Query Decomposition – LLM breaks complex queries into focused subqueries✅ Parallel Execution – Subqueries run simultaneously with semantic reranking✅ 40% Performance Boost – Improved answer relevance vs traditional RAG✅ Knowledge Bases – Multi-source grounding without siloed pipelines (Azure AI Foundry)✅ Chat History – Contextually aware responses from conversation history
✅ Assistants API (v2) – Built-in conversation history, persistent threads, tool access management✅ Function Calling – Models invoke external functions/tools; describe structure, receive calls with arguments✅ Parallel Tool Execution – Access Code Interpreter, File Search, custom functions simultaneouslyResponses API (2024) – New primitive with web search, file search, computer use✅ Structured Outputs – strict: true guarantees arguments match JSON Schema for reliable parsing⚠️ Agent Limitations – Less control vs LangChain for complex workflows; simpler assistant paradigm
Custom AI Agents – Autonomous GPT-4/Claude agents for business tasksMulti-Agent Systems – Specialized agents for support, sales, knowledgeMemory & Context – Persistent conversation history across sessionsTool Integration – Webhooks + 5,000 Zapier apps for automationContinuous Learning – Auto re-indexing without manual retraining
R A G-as-a- Service Assessment
✅ TRUE RAG-AS-A-SERVICE – End-to-end enterprise RAG with native Azure integration✅ Performance Metrics – Prompt variations, retrieval accuracy, response evaluation✅ AI-Assisted Metrics – 3 metrics requiring no ground truth for evaluation✅ Hybrid Optimization – Vector + keyword + semantic with relevance tuning✅ Import Wizard – Automates parsing, chunking, enrichment, embedding pipeline✅ 40% Accuracy Boost – vs standalone LLMs (study )
⚠️ NOT RAG-AS-A-SERVICE – Provides LLM models/APIs, not managed RAG infrastructureDIY RAG Architecture – Embed docs → external vector DB → retrieve → inject into promptFile Search (Beta) – Azure preview includes minimal semantic search; not production RAG⚠️ No Managed Infrastructure – Unlike CustomGPT/Vectara, leaves chunking, indexing, retrieval to developersFramework vs Service – Compare to LLM APIs (Claude, Gemini), not managed RAG platformsExternal Costs – RAG needs vector DBs (Pinecone $70+/month), hosting, embeddings API
Platform type – TRUE RAG-AS-A-SERVICE with managed infrastructureAPI-first – REST API, Python SDK, OpenAI compatibility, MCP ServerNo-code option – 2-minute wizard deployment for non-developersHybrid positioning – Serves both dev teams (APIs) and business users (no-code)Enterprise ready – SOC 2 Type II, GDPR, WCAG 2.0, flat-rate pricing
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