From Queries to Agents: The Next Era of Data Retrieval on PostgreSQL

As AI agents move from demos to production, the real challenge isn’t the model, it’s reliable, safe, and context‑aware data retrieval. In this talk, we explore how PostgreSQL is becoming the backbone for agent workflows through emerging retrieval patterns that begin with today’s Model Context Protocol (MCP) and point toward more unified approaches.

We’ll break down how agents interact with Postgres today using MCP servers, what goes wrong when agents generate SQL blindly, and why retrieval increasingly requires robust context correction alongside blended retrieval, vector similarity, relational SQL, and graph‑aware traversal working together to give agents a complete and reliable view of the data.

We’ll then outline the architectural principles shaping the next generation of retrieval layers—designed to give agents controlled, high‑quality access to Postgres without bespoke glue code.

You’ll leave with a clear mental model for building Postgres‑backed agents today, and a practical roadmap for where agent retrieval at Microsoft is heading next.