Command R
Cohere's enterprise language models optimized for retrieval-augmented generation, tool use and multilingual tasks.
What is Command R?
Command R is a family of large language models from Cohere, a Canadian AI company focused on enterprise use. Command R and Command R+ are optimized for retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), tool use and multilingual tasks, with answers that can include citations. Cohere has since released newer models in its Command family, such as Command A.
Cohere released Command R and the larger Command R+ in 2024 for businesses building AI applications on their own data. Instead of competing mainly as a consumer chatbot, Cohere focuses on models that companies can deploy in products and internal tools.
The models are designed for RAG, where an application first retrieves relevant documents and then asks the model to answer using them. Command R models can return grounded answers with citations that point back to source passages, which helps users verify responses.
They also support tool use, so developers can build agents that call APIs, search databases or take actions. The models support many major business languages and long context windows, and Cohere released open weights for research use on Hugging Face.
You can access Command models through Cohere's API and through major cloud platforms. For new projects, check whether Cohere's newer Command models are a better fit.
Key features of Command R
- RAG optimization: Designed to answer questions using retrieved documents.
- Grounded citations: Responses can cite the source passages they rely on.
- Tool use: Call external tools and APIs to build agent workflows.
- Multilingual support: Works across many major business languages.
- Long context: Handles long documents and conversations in one request.
- Flexible deployment: Available via Cohere's API, cloud marketplaces and private deployment options.
What you can use Command R for
- Building enterprise search and Q&A over company documents
- Customer support assistants grounded in knowledge bases
- Internal research tools with citations
- Multilingual business applications
- Agents that call internal APIs
Pros and considerations
Strengths
- Strong focus on RAG and citations
- Enterprise deployment and privacy options
- Multilingual capabilities
- Open weights available for research
Things to check
- It is a model for developers, not a ready-made end-user app.
- Newer Cohere models may outperform Command R for new projects.
- Open weights carry non-commercial license terms, so check licensing before deploying.
- Compare quality and cost against other models on your own data.
Command R pricing
Paid. Cohere models are billed by usage through its API and cloud partners, with a free trial key for testing; check the official site for current pricing.
Who Command R is best for
Enterprise developers building grounded, citation-backed AI applications on their own data.
Independent listing by AI Agent Help, last reviewed October 2026. Features and pricing change; check the official website for the latest details. Spot something out of date? Tell us.
Frequently asked questions
What is Cohere Command R used for?
It is mainly used for retrieval-augmented generation, enterprise search, chat assistants grounded in company documents, and tool-using agents.
What is the difference between Command R and Command R+?
Command R+ is the larger, more capable model, while Command R is smaller and more cost-efficient. Cohere has also released newer Command models since.
Is Command R open source?
Cohere released Command R weights for research use under a non-commercial license. Commercial use is through Cohere's API or licensed deployments.