Modular RAG refers to a method of building [retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) systems](https://www.meilisearch.com/blog/what-is-rag) where the entire setup is divided into smaller and independent components. This makes designing, customizing, or upgrading the pieces easier.

The key components of modular RAG are the retriever, which finds useful information, the generator, which turns the information into responses, and additional modules such as rerankers, memory, or vector databases, which improve the accuracy of the artificial intelligence system. Each module handles a specific function that contributes to the overall quality.

Modular RAG works by retrieving relevant context from external knowledge sources, passing it through a generative model, and allowing different modules to handle tasks such as filtering, summarization, or reasoning, depending on the task's requirements.

The key advantages of modular RAG are increased flexibility, easier debugging, and better scalability. The key disadvantages of modular RAG are added complexity in system design and potential challenges in integrating the different modules.

You can implement modular RAG by combining retrievers and LLMs into a RAG pipeline that fits your use case.

This article will discuss everything you should know about the modular RAG framework.

## What is modular RAG?

Modular RAG is a way of building RAG systems that treats each part of the process as separate but connected modules. Instead of having one rigid design, you get to choose the system build that works best.

In modular RAG, you can create a pipeline that adapts to your needs, be it faster retrieval or more accurate answers. Because you are not forced to use the same retrieval method, vector database, or language model every time, you get finer control over how information is retrieved, processed, and turned into answers. 

For example, you might love how one company's embedding model works but dislike its retrieval system. With modular RAG, you can retain the embeddings and change to a different retrieval process. You can even experiment with multiple language models to see the best-performing one for your use case.

Modular RAG is subdivided into three different components:

* The retriever that gathers context
* The generator that creates responses
* Additional modules, such as filters, memory, or rerankers, that refine the output to suit the user’s needs

Now, let’s see the working mechanism behind modular RAG.

## How does modular RAG work?

Modular RAG works by breaking the [RAG process](https://www.meilisearch.com/blog/how-to-build-rag) into separate components, with each component handling a specific task. 

![image5.png](https://unable-actionable-car.media.strapiapp.com/image5_6b10b78e7f.png)

These components can include:

* **Retriever:** The retriever searches a knowledge base or [vector database](https://www.meilisearch.com/blog/what-is-a-vector-database) for relevant information.
* **Reranker or filter:** This is optional but recommended. Before sending the results forward, a reranker or filter can reorder, clean, or narrow down the retrieved data so that only the most useful content is passed along to the next component.
* **Generator:** The generator (typically a large language model such as OpenAI GPT) takes the refined context and uses it to produce a response.
* **Additional modules:** Depending on the use case, additional modules such as memory modules or summarizers can be slotted in to improve accuracy or break down complex queries.
* **Output delivery:** Finally, the GenAI system returns an accurate response that is grounded in the retrieved information.

Let’s see some examples of modular RAG.

## What is an example of modular RAG?

An example of modular RAG in action can be an online shopping assistant. 

Let’s say you search for ‘running shoes under $100.’ The router first decides the best way to handle that query: either through keyword search or by semantic similarity search. 

The retriever then digs through the store’s product database. 

Next, the processing modules clean up the results, filter out any irrelevant items, and then rank the best fits. 

The generator takes that context and produces a useful reply such as, ‘Here are three running shoes under $100 that match your style.’

If the store later wants to add a recommendation setup or customer reviews as part of its process workflow, it can be done without changing the overall setup.

## What are the advantages of modular RAG?

The key advantages of using modular RAG over traditional and one-piece [RAG types](https://www.meilisearch.com/blog/rag-types) are the following:

* **Easy maintenance:** You can fix, upgrade, or replace a single part without worrying that the entire system will break.
* **Faster development:** Different teams can work on separate modules in parallel, allowing for faster deployment and optimization of new features.
* **Easy customization:** Different industries have different needs for modular RAG. A legal assistant may add citation tracking, while an e-commerce chatbot may use recommendation modules. Modular RAG makes it easy to tailor the modules to your needs.
* **Scalable performance:** Modules that handle heavier workflow can be given extra resources, while lighter ones can run with less. 
* **Reliability:** Since the AI system is divided into separate components, weak spots can be easily spotted and fixed, making it more reliable over time.

## What are the disadvantages of modular RAG?

The disadvantages of implementing modular RAG are the following:

* **Higher setup costs:** More modules mean more infrastructure and skilled people are needed to run them, which drives costs up. 
* **Complexity overload:** Managing several modules at once is not easy. There are more parts to manage individually and collectively. Troubleshooting the modules can also involve complex procedures, particularly in identifying the root cause of the issues.
* **Learning curve:** Teams using modular RAG must understand how each module works and fits together, which can slow down onboarding and often requires knowledge of data science and NLP.

## What is the architecture of modular RAG?

The architecture of modular RAG is built around breaking the whole system into smaller parts that work together. Here is how the typical architecture looks:

![image1.png](https://unable-actionable-car.media.strapiapp.com/image1_c115ed35eb.png)

* **Client query interface:** This is where the user’s query first comes in. 
* **Retrieval module:** The query from the client query interface is sent to the retrieval module. This module includes a vector search store (used for semantic search), a document store (used for traditional text search), and a cache layer (used to quickly retrieve recent or repeated queries). Together, they act like a library housing the important information.
* **Reasoning module:** Here, the context processor organizes what was retrieved, the inference engine helps the system reason through it, and the state manager keeps track of any history or ongoing context.
* **Generation module:** This is the last phase. The LLM generates a draft response, the template engine structures it neatly, and the output validator checks it for accuracy before delivering the final response to the user.

The architecture of modular RAG makes it easy to use for domain-specific use cases, such as customer support or enterprise knowledge graphs.

## How can modular RAG be implemented?

Modular RAG can be implemented by combining several independent pillars. Each pillar addresses a different aspect of the system and can work on its own or alongside the others. 

Let’s look at these pillars:  

### 1. Data pipeline

The data pipeline handles how datasets are ingested and processed. You can create multiple data pipelines based on the type of content. 

For example, an ETL pipeline that implements modular RAG for customer support documents and another that handles technical manuals. Each use case has its processing pipeline that knows how to handle that specific content. 

Techniques such as chunking and carefully selecting the chunk size can significantly improve retrieval quality.

### 2. Microservices 

The system is divided into independent services that communicate with each other via API calls. Your ‘retrieval’ service can handle document searches, while the ‘reasoning’ service processes the logic, and your ‘generation’ service crafts the final response.

[Meilisearch](https://www.meilisearch.com/docs) can be used as the retrieval service because it can quickly index and retrieve documents without heavy infrastructure overhead.

### 3. Routing layer

The routing layer directs queries based on rules or classifiers and decides which module or pipeline should handle user queries using retrieval strategies or classifiers. You can use simple keyword matching for simple queries, but machine learning classifiers are better for complex queries. 

### 4. Containers for technical implementation

Containers for technical implementation manage how services are packaged and deployed. They make it easy to scale specific modules up or down, swap one out if needed, or update a service without breaking the whole setup.

### 5. Monitoring and orchestration tools

Monitoring and orchestration tools ensure smooth coordination, error handling, and balancing of generation processes. They track how each module performs, catch errors before users find them, and coordinate complex queries that need multiple modules to work together.

## How can modular RAG be evaluated?

Evaluating modular RAG requires tracking metrics across modules:  

* Information retrieval quality via precision and recall.  
* Post-retrieval validation to ensure the correct retrieved documents.  
* End-to-end evaluation of speed and quality, compared against baseline pipelines.

The most comprehensive setup is a ‘sandboxed RAG playground,’ which includes static data, swappable modules, and an LLM to evaluate answers across different configurations.

You want to measure both individual module performance and overall system effectiveness. 

For individual modules, you can track metrics like retrieval accuracy, response time, and resource usage. Each specialized module should behave like an expert in its field, meaning your legal module should confidently handle legal queries, while the technical one should handle engineering problems perfectly.

End-to-end [RAG evaluation](https://www.meilisearch.com/blog/rag-evaluation) matters just as much as module benchmarks. Run complex queries and observe how well the modules work with each other. Check if the system returns an accurate answer. 

In addition, compare the overall quality of information retrieval against a single-pipeline baseline to determine if modular RAG is an improvement.

Another consideration is comparing latency and quality trade-offs. Modular systems often introduce increased latency due to the coordination overhead, so you will need to balance response speed with answer quality.

Real-world testing with iterative feedback loops and augmentation scenarios is great for evaluating modular RAG. It is better to use actual user queries on your system than synthetic test cases. 

Also, pay attention to edge cases where routing gets tricky or where the modules need to collaborate.

## How does modular RAG compare to naive RAG?

Modular RAG uses multiple specialized components that capture domain-specific details and deliver more accurate results, while naive RAG relies on a single retrieval system that may overlook nuances. 

Modular RAG is like a team of specialists, while naive RAG is more like relying on a generalist.

Compared to naive RAG, modular RAG is more powerful for complex queries, though it requires more effort to build and maintain. 

Naive RAG, on the other hand, is quick and straightforward. Your query goes into one retrieval step, documents come back, and an answer is generated.

## How does modular RAG compare to advanced RAG?

Modular RAG can be seen as an evolution of advanced RAG techniques, taking the same core idea but pushing it further by emphasizing modularity, scalability, and flexibility. 

Advanced RAG represents an improvement over naive RAG by incorporating smarter algorithms, enhanced reranking, or multiple retrieval steps. But it is still often built as one big pipeline. 

Modular RAG breaks this apart into smaller, specialized modules that can be swapped, upgraded, or scaled independently.

Both approaches are powerful, but modular RAG shines when you want control, scalability, and the freedom to adjust as your needs evolve.

## Are there papers on modular RAG?

Yes, there are different papers on modular RAG:

1. ‘Modular RAG: Transforming RAG Systems into LEGO-like Reconfigurable Frameworks,’ published July 2024 by Yunfan Gao, Yun Xiong, Meng Wang, and Haofen Wang (arXiv). It introduces the modular RAG paradigm and lays out a flexible, multi-module architecture that evolves beyond the classic linear RAG flow. 
2. ‘Retrieval-Augmented Generation for Large Language Models: A Survey’ by Gao *et al.,* published December 2023 on arXiv. It covers the broader RAG evolution, including the various modular approaches.
3. ‘RAG and RAU: A Survey on Retrieval-Augmented Language Model in Natural Language Processing’ by Hu and Lu, published April 2024 on arXiv. It examines modular components and their interactions. 
4. ‘A Survey on RAG Meets LLMs: Towards Retrieval-Augmented Large Language Models’ by Ding *et al.,* published May 2024 on arXiv. It explores modular architectures and training strategies.


## Start building intelligent RAG systems with Meilisearch

If you are looking to build smarter RAG systems, Meilisearch is your go-to tool. 

It is easy to set up, meaning you can focus more on building intelligent retrieval workflows rather than battling with designing RAG infrastructure. 

Meilisearch also shines at delivering highly relevant documents with low latency, making it ideal for feeding accurate context into your generative AI models.

Modular RAG: What it is, how it works, architecture & more

Traditional retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) is powerful, but it often treats information as isolated chunks, missing the connections between entities that give answers depth and context. 

GraphRAG changes that by combining knowledge graphs with large language models, allowing AI to reason across linked data, trace relationships, and produce richer, more accurate responses. 

Whether you’re building advanced chatbots, analyzing legal documents, or exploring healthcare research, GraphRAG offers explainable and scalable results. 

In this article, we explain how GraphRAG works, why it matters, and the tools and steps needed to implement it effectively.

## What is GraphRAG?

GraphRAG stands for Graph Retrieval-Augmented Generation. It is an advanced approach that follows the [basic principles of RAG](https://www.meilisearch.com/blog/what-is-rag) systems, but it also combines knowledge graphs with large language models to produce context-rich and accurate responses. 

While the common assumption might be that it retrieves isolated chunks, GraphRAG actually uses the structure of the graph to map the relationship between the entities or documents. This allows the model to reason and provide more depth in answers. 

Let’s look at how GraphRAG works in practice.

## How does GraphRAG work?

GraphRAG works by blending structured data from a graph with language model reasoning. 

The process starts with indexing and retrieval steps similar to those in a traditional [RAG retrieval workflow](https://www.meilisearch.com/blog/rag-techniques), but extends them with a graph layer for connected reasoning and contextual information that reflects real-world relationships. 

![image6.png](https://unable-actionable-car.media.strapiapp.com/image6_688a566c5d.png)

Let’s look at a sequential progression of a typical RAG workflow:

1. **Build the knowledge graph:** Start by collecting your source material – documents, datasets, or domain-specific content. From this, you extract entities (such as people, concepts, or places) and the relationships between them, either with natural language processing tools or manual curation. These entities and connections are then stored in a graph database or graph data structure.
2. **Retrieve relevant context:** When a user submits a query, the system first searches for relevant nodes and edges in the graph. A search engine like Meilisearch can quickly handle text or metadata retrieval before moving on to graph traversal. The result is a set of related entities and their connections, forming a structured context for the query.
3. **Generate with LLMs:** Finally, the retrieved subgraph, supporting documents, and the user’s query are passed to the LLM. The model combines the textual content with the graph’s relationships to produce a context-rich answer that responds directly to the query and provides supporting details tied to the graph’s structure.

In practice, this setup helps the LLM understand how different pieces of information fit together and provides a better overall explainability.

## What are the benefits of using GraphRAG?

The key benefits of GraphRAG include:

* **Improved accuracy:** Graph traversal only brings you the most relevant nodes and documents, so there’s a reduction of noise in the search results.
* **Stronger reasoning:** Structured connections in a graph let the LLM follow logical paths, making its answers more coherent and less prone to hallucinations than when reasoning over unstructured data.
* **Explainability:** GraphRAG makes tracing how an answer was formed easier. Developers can better view and explain the nodes and relationships supporting the output.
* **Scalability:** Graph structures make it easier to expand knowledge bases while keeping retrieval efficient, even as the volume of data grows.

Based on these benefits, it’s clear that GraphRAG can be invaluable in domains that rely on precision and trust, such as healthcare, finance, and law. 

## How is GraphRAG different from baseline RAG?

GraphRAG represents one of the different [types of RAG](https://www.meilisearch.com/blog/rag-types), and its retrieval process differs from baseline RAG. 

Baseline RAG is vector search-based, while GraphRAG uses structured relationships to get the end result. GraphRAG can still use vector and full-text search, but relationships drive what gets retrieved.

![image2.png](https://unable-actionable-car.media.strapiapp.com/image2_d3c776618c.png)

Key differences between baseline RAG and GraphRAG include:

* **Data structure:** Baseline RAG stores documents as [embeddings in a vector database](https://www.meilisearch.com/blog/what-are-vector-embeddings), while GraphRAG models entities and relationships as nodes and edges, optionally combined with embeddings.
* **Retrieval:** Baseline RAG relies on semantic similarity over vectors, whereas GraphRAG uses graph traversal with local or global search, often combined with vector or text search.
* **Query processing:** Baseline RAG sends a single query to the vector index, while GraphRAG follows a multi-step process that interprets the query, selects a subgraph, and may generate graph queries such as Cypher.
* **Context assembly:** Baseline RAG provides top-k chunks by similarity, while GraphRAG assembles a subgraph, community summaries, and linked documents aligned to the question.
* **Reasoning:** Baseline RAG is limited to reasoning within the retrieved chunk, whereas GraphRAG enables relational reasoning across connected facts and summaries.
* **Explainability:** Baseline RAG makes it difficult to trace why a chunk was retrieved, while GraphRAG offers traceable paths and nodes that support each answer.

## What is a knowledge graph in GraphRAG?

A knowledge graph is a structured representation of information in which entities are stored as nodes and the connections between them are relationships. 

The nodes don’t always represent the same thing. Each one can represent a different document, concept, or data point. The relationships tell you how these nodes are linked. All of this helps genAI use better context to generate its answers.

Next, we will look at common use cases where GraphRAG shines.

## What are common use cases for GraphRAG?

GraphRAG is ideal in domains where the answers must be based on structured relationships and context.

Let’s see some examples:

* **Advanced chatbots:** GraphRAG helps chatbots deliver more relevant responses through a better-established context from linked sources.
* **Answering complex queries:** GraphRAG contributes significantly to handling queries that span multiple topics, such as linking research findings across disciplines.
* **Financial services:** This industry has arguably the most use for GraphRAG, which can help connect company data, market trends, and regulatory filings to support investment analysis.
* **Healthcare research:** In healthcare, GraphRAG contributes to research by linking patient records, studies, and treatment outcomes for more informed recommendations.
* **Legal document analysis:** In the legal domain, GraphRAG helps map case law, statutes, and prior rulings to answer legal questions with supporting references.
* **Scientific knowledge exploration:** This is another use case involving connecting datasets, experiments, and literature to build hypotheses.

These use cases highlight the variety and potential influence of GraphRAG when applied correctly. 

Moving on, we will review tools that can help you implement it.


## What tools are available for implementing GraphRAG?

We already know that GraphRAG tools are designed to manage knowledge graphs, retrieve relevant nodes and documents, and integrate with LLMs for generation. 

But, depending on the goal, you may need a graph database, a fast search engine, or an orchestration framework.

[RAG tools](https://www.meilisearch.com/blog/rag-tools) commonly used in Graph RAG applications include:

* **Meilisearch:** Our fast, developer-friendly search engine that can serve as the initial retrieval layer before graph traversal.
* **LangChain:** A framework for chaining retrieval and generation components, with support for graph-based workflows.
* **Weaviate:** An open-source vector database with built-in support for knowledge graphs, allowing you to combine semantic search with graph-based retrieval.
* **FAISS:** A high-performance library for efficient similarity search across large-scale embeddings, often used alongside graphs to speed up relevant information retrieval with specialized algorithms.
* **Haystack:** A flexible framework for building end-to-end RAG pipelines, including integration with graph databases and LLMs.
* **Neo4j:** A widely used graph database that supports Graph RAG approach implementations.
* **GitHub repositories:** Many generative AI examples of GraphRAG can be found on GitHub, shared by both independent developers and enterprise providers like Microsoft or OpenAI.

The right combination of tools depends on the format your data sources, scale, and reasoning needs. 

Now, it’s time to go through the steps to implement GraphRAG.

## How to implement GraphRAG

GraphRAG follows a relatively simple pattern involving fast text indexing, building a graph of entities and links, and retrieving a focused subgraph before LLM generation uses that structure.

Here’s a practical path [you can build](https://www.meilisearch.com/blog/how-to-build-rag):


### 1. Prepare data and set up Meilisearch

The first step ingests documents, normalizes fields, and creates fast text and filter search.

Fast recall ensures the graph only has to operate over a smaller, high-relevance subset of documents instead of the entire dataset, which keeps queries efficient.


```python
# Install Meilisearch client
# pip install meilisearch
from meilisearch import Client
client = Client("http://127.0.0.1:7700", "MASTER_KEY")

# Create an index and add documents
idx = client.index("docs")
docs = [
 {"id":"r1","title":"AML report 2024","body":"Acme Ltd acquired Nova Bank in 2021."},
 {"id":"r2","title":"Filing 10-K","body":"Nova Bank operates in New York."}
]

# Add docs and make title filterable
idx.add_documents(docs)
idx.update_settings({"filterableAttributes":["title"]})
```


**Note:** `update_settings` is asynchronous. In production, you’d check the task status before searching. Otherwise, results may not be immediately available.

Next, use these docs to build the graph.


### 2. Build the knowledge graph

Step two involves extracting entities and relationships and storing nodes and edges in a database or in-memory graph.

Unlike flat text, a knowledge graph preserves the relationships between entities (who did what, where, when) giving the LLM structured context for reasoning.


```python
import spacy
nlp = spacy.load("en_core_web_sm")

text = "Acme Ltd acquired Nova Bank in 2021. Nova Bank operates in New York."
doc = nlp(text)

# Extract entities
entities = [{"id": ent.text, "type": ent.label_} for ent in doc.ents]

# For simplicity, define relations manually
relations = [
 ("Acme Ltd", "ACQUIRED", "Nova Bank"),
 ("Nova Bank", "OPERATES_IN", "New York")
]

# Connect to Neo4j
from neo4j import GraphDatabase
driver = GraphDatabase.driver("bolt://localhost:7687", auth=("neo4j", "password"))

# Insert entities and relations
def add_entities_and_relations(entities, relations):
 with driver.session() as session:
 for e in entities:
 session.run(
 "MERGE (n:Entity {name: $name, type: $type})",
 name=e["id"],
 type=e["type"]
 )
 for src, rel, dst in relations:
 # Ensure relation label is safe before using it
 session.run(
 f"""
 MATCH (a:Entity {{name: $src}}), (b:Entity {{name: $dst}})
 MERGE (a)-[r:`{rel}`]->(b)
 """,
 src=src, dst=dst
 )
add_entities_and_relations(entities, relations)
```


**Note:** In practice, you’d extract relations automatically (e.g., using dependency parsing or an IE model). Here they’re hard coded for clarity.


### 3. Connect retrieval to the graph

This step takes the user query, does fast recall in Meilisearch, maps results to entities, and expands the subgraph.

This step ensures the LLM sees only the relevant neighborhood of connected entities, reducing noise and making the answer more precise.


```python
q = "Who owns Nova Bank and where do they operate?"
hits = idx.search(q, limit=5)["hits"]

# Map results to seed entities (here done manually, but usually via NER/metadata)
seed_entities = ["Nova Bank"]

with driver.session() as session:
 graph_results = session.run("""
 MATCH (n:Entity {name: $name})-[r]-(m)
 RETURN n.name AS source, type(r) AS relation, m.name AS target
 LIMIT 50
 """, name=seed_entities[0])

edges = [dict(record) for record in graph_results]
print("Retrieved edges:", edges)
```


Next, pack the right context for generation.


### 4. Assemble context and generate with the LLM

This step summarizes nodes, edges, and linked passages. It builds a compact prompt that shows content and relationships.

The assembled context presents both the facts and their links, so the LLM can generate an answer that reflects not just content but relationships.


```python
context = {
 "nodes": entities,
 "edges": [{"src": e["source"], "rel": e["relation"], "dst": e["target"]} for e in edges],
 "supporting_text": [hit["body"] for hit in hits]
}

prompt = f"""
Question: {q}
Graph nodes: {context['nodes']}
Graph edges: {context['edges']}
Supporting text: {context['supporting_text']}
Answer with cited nodes and edges.
"""

# Example with OpenAI
from openai import OpenAI
client = OpenAI() # expects OPENAI_API_KEY in environment

response = client.chat.completions.create(
 model="gpt-4o",
 messages=[{"role": "user", "content": prompt}]
)

print(response.choices[0].message.content)
```


Moving to the final step, we will measure quality and tighten the loop.


### 5. Evaluate and improve

The final step involves checks for grounding, novelty, and path coverage. It adds caching, reranking, and guardrails.


```python
# Feedback storage
feedback_log = []
CONFIDENCE_THRESHOLD = 0.7

# Logging query feedback
def log_query_feedback(query, answer, confidence, missing_entities=None):
 feedback_log.append({
 "query": query,
 "answer": answer,
 "confidence": confidence,
 "missing_entities": missing_entities or []
 })

# Confidence / gap detection
def needs_expansion(entry):
 return (
 entry["confidence"] < CONFIDENCE_THRESHOLD
 or len(entry["missing_entities"]) > 0
 )

# Auto-expand graph
def auto_expand_graph(missing_entities):
 for entity in missing_entities:
 # Placeholder: implement recall + entity extraction
 docs = search_index(entity)
 for doc in docs:
 entities, relations = extract_entities_relations(doc["content"])
 upsert_graph(entities, relations)

# Feedback loop runner
def run_feedback_loop():
 for entry in feedback_log:
 if needs_expansion(entry):
 auto_expand_graph(entry["missing_entities"])
```


Evaluation closes the loop: it helps detect missing entities, reduce latency, and keep answers grounded and reliable.

**Note:** `search_index`, `extract_entities_relations`, and `upsert_graph` are placeholders. In a real pipeline, you’d implement these functions to query Meilisearch, run NER/RE, and insert results into Neo4j.


## Key takeaways on building with GraphRAG

GraphRAG brings structure and reasoning to retrieval-augmented generation, improving accuracy, context, and explainability. Combining a knowledge graph with a fast search layer gives LLMs the context they need to deliver better answers – a crucial step toward [mastering RAG](https://www.meilisearch.com/blog/mastering-rag).

What is GraphRAG: Complete guide [2025]

Agentic RAG (retrieval-augmented generation) gives your RAG pipelines agent-like decision-making ability. Instead of retrieving blindly, agentic RAG plans, retrieves, and validates steps to provide context-rich answers.

Why is this important? It helps developers by improving reliability, reducing fragmented responses, and enabling large language models (LLMs) to handle more complex tasks. 

The key benefits of agentic RAG are stronger reasoning, higher accuracy, and better explainability, while the key drawbacks are more computation, dependency on orchestration, and added complexity.

Agentic RAG works through a loop of retrieval, planning, and evaluation. Tools like Meilisearch, LangChain, and LlamaIndex make these pipelines possible.

Let’s break down what agentic RAG is in detail.

## What is agentic RAG?

Agentic RAG is an advanced method that equips a RAG pipeline with agent-like reasoning. 

Instead of relying on static information retrieval, it uses planning, decision-making, and iterative evaluation to determine when and how to retrieve context. Naturally, this makes the process more adaptive and precise.

Technically, agentic RAG refers to retrieval systems that embed autonomous agents into the pipeline to refine context, rerank sources, and validate outputs before passing them to the AI model. This ensures that accurate responses are generated consistently.

Curious to see an example? Let’s get right to it.

## An example of agentic RAG in action

While there are plenty of examples of agentic RAG in action, we’ll stick to two. 

The first example would be an AI customer support chatbot that actually considers a query instead of returning the first matching document it finds. 

It takes time to think whether to search product manuals, FAQs, or previous tickets before giving you an answer. 

This can be applied in finance as well. Imagine a compliance assistant that’s smart enough to retrieve regulatory filings and cross-check them against internal policies before it generates an output. 

In both these cases, agentic RAG acts as a decision-maker instead of just a retriever, leveraging tool use and automation to improve results.

## How does agentic RAG work?

Agentic RAG turns retrieval into a step-by-step process with reasoning behind it. The ‘agent’ plans, validates, and iterates instead of just generating the top result ASAP. 

![Agentic RAG.png](https://unable-actionable-car.media.strapiapp.com/Agentic_RAG_1a8a6c9e4f.png)

The workflow of agentic RAG looks like this:

1. **Query understanding:** It starts by understanding the user query. Then, if needed, it breaks it down into sub-tasks.
2. **Planning retrieval:** The agent decides which data sources to consult and in what order, be they structured databases, document collections, or APIs.
3. **Context retrieval:** The relevant documents are retrieved through vector, hybrid, or keyword search. Tools like Meilisearch make this stage efficient and customizable based on your preference.
4. **Evaluation and correction:** The retrieved data is scored for relevance, consistency, and completeness. The passages with low confidence are reranked, filtered, or replaced.
5. **Generation with oversight:** The LLM produces a draft response, but the agent may call for additional data retrieval steps or corrections before finalizing.
6. **Feedback loop:** Agent logs, confidence scores, and user feedback are used to refine retrieval and planning for future queries.

For the pipeline to work, specific key components are critical:

* Retriever for fast recall (e.g., Meilisearch)
* Planner that breaks down queries and decides retrieval order
* Evaluator that checks factual grounding and confidence
* Feedback loop to continuously improve outputs

Combining these elements allows agentic RAG to transform retrieval from a static lookup into a proper decision-making process with multi-agent systems coordinating tasks.

Now, let’s see why this approach is important for LLM applications.

## Is agentic RAG important?

Yes, agentic RAG is important because it addresses the core weaknesses of [traditional RAG](https://www.meilisearch.com/blog/what-is-rag) pipelines. 

Right off the bat, it reduces hallucination by validating context. Structured planning eliminates fragmented retrieval and automatically improves reliability for complex queries. 

For example, it helps in compliance research, where accuracy is critical, and in customer support, where context switching can cause irrelevant answers.

## Where is agentic RAG used?

Agentic RAG is applied in domains with significant reliance on accurate retrieval and adaptive reasoning. 

Let’s see some common use cases below:

* **Customer support:** Customers love accurate and context-aware responses, so agentic RAG in this field is becoming a must-have. 
* **Healthcare:** Agentic RAG can be applied in the form of clinical assistants capable of validating medical literature and patient records before producing an output.
* **Legal research:** The legal domain can benefit from agentic RAG, which maps statutes, precedents, and case law and cross-checks context before drafting summaries or legal arguments.
* **Financial services:** In finance, compliance bots retrieve regulatory filings, compare them with internal policies, and highlight discrepancies for auditors.
* **Education:** You will find intelligent tutoring systems that plan which sources to pull from and explain answers with supporting context.
* **Enterprise knowledge management:** Agents review large document repositories to rank and validate sources, which helps resolve contradictions and eliminate noise.
* **Scientific research:** RAG systems explore datasets and published papers, iteratively validating evidence to support hypothesis building.
* **Multimodal applications:** Agentic RAG integrates text, images, and structured data for real-time data analysis in media and research contexts.

By adapting retrieval to domain-specific needs, agentic RAG improves the reliability and usability of artificial intelligence systems. 

## What are the benefits of implementing agentic RAG?

![Benefits of Agentic RAG.png](https://unable-actionable-car.media.strapiapp.com/Benefits_of_Agentic_RAG_babce95706.png)

The key benefits of implementing agentic RAG are:

* **Improved accuracy:** Agentic RAG brings about a major difference in accuracy of responses by improving context and reducing hallucinations.
* **Context-aware reasoning:** Planning retrieval steps connects multiple sources into a coherent response. 
* **Explainability:** Each decision, including what was retrieved, why it was chosen, and how it influenced the output, can easily be traced. Hence, the output becomes transparent to both developers and end users.
* **Adaptability:** Agentic RAGs dynamically adjust retrieval strategies for different queries, making pipelines more flexible than static RAG implementations.
* **Continuous improvement:** With feedback loops, the system learns from past queries to refine retrieval and planning over time.
* **Smarter routing:** Agents determine which sources or external tools to consult, reducing noise and improving function selection.

Together, these benefits make agentic RAG a strong candidate for mission-critical AI systems.

## Are there drawbacks in agentic RAG implementation?

Indeed, there are tradeoffs for agentic RAG’s advanced usability and benefits. These include:

* **Higher computational cost:** With great power comes a higher recurring cost. The added steps of planning, reranking, and evaluation increase latency and resource usage, which can be a bottleneck for real-time applications.
* **Complexity of setup:** Unlike standard RAG, agentic pipelines require orchestration between retrievers, evaluators, and feedback loops. This raises the barrier to adoption.
* **Dependency on evaluators:** The accuracy of corrective steps often relies on evaluator models or heuristics. If these are weak or misaligned, the whole system can crumble.
* **Risk of overcorrection:** In some cases, agentic RAG is smarter than it needs to be. This leads to overcorrection, which might discard useful retrieved information. 

These drawbacks highlight the need for careful infrastructure planning before implementing agentic RAG. 

We also need to consider the challenges of deploying agentic RAG.

## What are the challenges of implementing agentic RAG?

Beyond drawbacks, teams face practical challenges when deploying agentic RAG. Let’s look at some below:

* **Data integration:** Many enterprises operate across siloed systems and formats. Building pipelines that unify structured, semi-structured, and unstructured data is not easy, to say the least. 
* **Scalability:** Agentic RAG requires extensive strategic planning and evaluation, which becomes more challenging during scaling.
* **Security and compliance:** Security is obligatory and keeping up with compliance adds a lot of complexity to the architecture. 
* **Developer expertise:** Implementing orchestration logic demands experience with frameworks, retrievers, and agent systems. Keeping up with the adoption could be difficult if your team is not skilled enough.

Next, let’s look at the tools commonly used in agentic RAG pipelines.

## What tools are used in agentic RAG pipelines?

[Different retrieval tools](https://www.meilisearch.com/blog/rag-tools) support agentic RAG:

* **LangChain:** LangChain is a widely used orchestration framework that connects retrievers, evaluators, and generators into an agentic workflow. It allows the LLM to decide when to retrieve, when to generate, and when to validate. It’s central to many agentic setups.
* **LlamaIndex:** A tool designed for indexing and structuring data, which helps agents plan retrieval strategies across multiple external knowledge sources. It is often used to build a hierarchical context or combine unstructured and structured data.
* **Vector databases (e.g., Weaviate, Pinecone):** These provide scalable [vector search](https://www.meilisearch.com/blog/what-is-vector-search) that supports semantic similarity through embedding-based methods. Agents use them for dense retrieval before applying correction or validation steps.
* **Meilisearch:** A fast, developer-friendly search engine that fits as the initial retrieval layer in agentic RAG. It stands out thanks to its hybrid search, filters, and typo tolerance, which help agents recall precise candidates before running corrective or validation loops. For AI agent deployment, it provides speed and fine-grained control, which keeps pipelines responsive while maintaining relevance. It’s an all-in-one package for developers.

These tools create the infrastructure agents need to plan, retrieve, evaluate, and refine responses. 

Now, let’s walk through how to implement an agentic RAG pipeline.


## How can you implement agentic RAG?

There’s a methodical implementation for agentic RAG. It requires a step-by-step process that includes layering planning, validation, and feedback on top of a standard retrieval–generation pipeline. 

The following steps show how to set it up using Meilisearch for retrieval and an LLM for reasoning:


### 1. Ingest and index documents with Meilisearch

The first step is preparing your training data. The documents are indexed in Meilisearch so the agent can query them quickly. This provides a fast recall layer before validation and reasoning.

```python
from meilisearch import Client
client = Client("http://127.0.0.1:7700", "MASTER_KEY")
index = client.index("docs")

docs = [
  {"id": "1", "title": "Onboarding Guide", "body": "Steps to onboard a new user securely."},
  {"id": "2", "title": "Security Policy", "body": "MFA is mandatory for admins."}
]
index.add_documents(docs)
```


This gives the agent a searchable knowledge base to work with.


### 2. Retrieve candidates and build context

Next, the agent recalls relevant information and organizes it into a usable context for reasoning.


```python
query = "How do I onboard a new user with MFA?"
hits = index.search(query, {"limit": 5})["hits"]

context = "\n".join([f"{h['title']}: {h['body']}" for h in hits])
```


By structuring evidence, the system avoids sending raw, noisy text directly to the model.


### 3. Validate and refine context

Before passing context to the generator, the agent checks for gaps or contradictions. If key terms are missing, it expands the query with synonyms or related phrases.


```python
def needs_more_context(hits):
    return not any("MFA" in h["body"] for h in hits)

if needs_more_context(hits):
    more = index.search("multi-factor authentication", {"limit": 5})["hits"]
    hits += more
```


This step ensures the generator sees comprehensive and accurate information.


### 4. Generate the final answer and log feedback

Finally, the agent generates a response with citations and logs feedback to improve future runs.


```python
from openai import OpenAI
client = OpenAI(api_key="YOUR_API_KEY")

prompt = f"Q: {query}\nContext:\n{context}\nAnswer with citations."
resp = client.chat.completions.create(model="gpt-4o", messages=[{"role":"user","content":prompt}])

answer = resp.choices[0].message.content
print(answer)
```


The feedback on confidence and missing facts can be stored to refine retrieval strategies over time. 

In the following section, let’s tackle some of the most frequently asked questions about the performance of agentic RAG.


## How does agentic RAG perform?

A recent[ survey on agentic RAG](https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.09136) highlights that it enables flexibility, scalability, and context awareness across complex domains like healthcare, finance, and education.

Another[ study on Search-R1](https://arxiv.org/html/2507.10411v1) found that effective retrievers shorten reasoning steps and improve answer quality, with query performance prediction strongly correlating with final accuracy.

Finally, in recommendation systems, an[ agentic RAG framework](https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.21931) achieved a 42.1% improvement in NDCG@5 and 35% in Hit@5 compared to standard RAG approaches. 


### How does agentic RAG differ from traditional RAG?

We already know that traditional RAG systems use one-shot retrieval followed by generation. Agentic RAG is more capable and comprehensive. It plans, iterates, and retrieves adaptively through context validation. 


### How does agentic RAG differ from naive RAG?

Naive RAG uses static retrieval rules with no feedback, while agentic RAG defers retrieval decisions to the agent within a reasoning and feedback loop. This enables retrieval to evolve based on the context.


### How does agentic RAG differ from graph RAG?

[Graph RAG](https://www.meilisearch.com/blog/graph-rag) uses structured relationships for retrieval, but is still a single-pass retrieval system. Agentic RAG layers planning and feedback on top of graph or vector retrieval, enabling reasoning over evolving multi-hop paths.


### How does agentic RAG differ from adaptive RAG?

[Adaptive RAG](https://www.meilisearch.com/blog/adaptive-rag) adjusts retrieval parameters based on query difficulty. Agentic RAG, on the other hand, goes further. It actively generates new retrieval queries mid-reasoning to fill gaps or refine context.


### How does agentic RAG differ from an MCP?

Agentic RAG is a retrieval-planning paradigm. In contrast, an MCP (multi-choice prompt) is a prompting technique focused on structured output design. It’s not associated with retrieval optimization or adaptive querying.


## Start building intelligent RAG systems

By treating retrieval as a process of reasoning rather than a static lookup, agentic RAG forces us to design RAG agents that think before they answer. 

That added deliberation may cost more computing and complexity. Still, it sets the foundation for agentic AI that is not only more accurate but also more trustworthy, explainable, and adaptable to real-world challenges.

What is agentic RAG? How it works, benefits, challenges & more

In our [previous post](https://www.meilisearch.com/blog/mastering-rag), we dove into the complexities of **hybrid search**, a powerful technique that combines the precision of keyword-based searching with the contextual understanding of vector-based searching. We learned that this dual approach is essential for retrieving relevant information from your data.

![what-is-rag.png](https://unable-actionable-car.media.strapiapp.com/what_is_rag_410e6d690f.png)

But a great search is only part of the story. Today, we'll zoom out and explore the complete **Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG)** workflow, showing how Meilisearch simplifies the entire process. In short, RAG has 3 steps: **Query regeneration** (rewriting the user’s question), **Retrieval** (searching for the answer to the question in a database), and **Generation** (using the question and the search results to formulate an answer to the question). While our last discussion focused on **step 2** of the RAG pipeline (the retrieval step), we'll now cover the whole system, from preparing the initial query to generating the final, informed response.

## The Motivation for RAG

Before we get into the nuts and bolts, let's briefly recap why RAG is a game-changer. Large Language Models (LLMs) are remarkable at generating human-like text, but they have two significant limitations:

* **Limited Knowledge:** LLMs are trained on vast amounts of public data, but their knowledge is static. They can't access real-time information (e.g., the results of yesterday’s game) or specific, private data (e.g., your company's internal documents).  
* **Hallucinations:** When faced with a question they don't have a definitive answer for, LLMs will sometimes "hallucinate", they make up plausible-sounding but factually incorrect information. This is because they are designed to predict the next word in a sequence, not to be a factual knowledge base. In short, the LLM doesn’t even *know* it is lying, as it has no concept of this, only a muscle-memory that indicates what is the word that will most likely follow the current text.

RAG solves these problems by giving the LLM a new superpower: the ability to "look up" information before answering. It’s like giving an LLM a personal librarian who can find and summarize relevant documents from your private data, and help the LLM formulate the best possible response.

### An Analogy: You've Been Doing RAG Your Whole Life

To understand the RAG workflow, let's use a simple, everyday example. Imagine a friend asks you, "Hey, I'm trying to remember who won the last World Cup of the 20th century, but for the life of me I can’t recall, do you know?"

You wouldn't just type their exact question into Google. Instead, your brain performs a series of RAG-like steps:

1. **Query Rephrasing:** You rephrase their question into a more effective search query, like "1998 World Cup winner" or "football world cup champion late 90s." You know that a good search query is precise and uses keywords that are likely to appear in the documents you want to find.  
2. **Information Retrieval:** You type your refined query into Google, which then retrieves a list of web pages, articles, and other sources that are likely to contain the answer. This is the **retrieval** step.  
3. **Synthesis and Generation:** You quickly scan the top few search results, read the key information (e.g., several articles with titles such as "France was the 1998 World Cup champion", “Les bleus have won the cup\!”, or “Zidane and his team have won the 1998 World Cup”), and then, based the articles you skimmed, formulate a clear, concise response for your friend: "France won the 1998 World Cup." This is the **generation** step.

This is exactly what RAG does. It's a three-step process that allows an LLM to answer questions using external, up-to-date, or private data.

## The RAG Workflow in Detail

The RAG process can be broken down into three main stages.

![rag-pipeline.png](https://unable-actionable-car.media.strapiapp.com/rag_pipeline_c1965f7552.png)

### Step 1: Generating a Better Search Query

The user's initial question is rarely the best search query. A well-crafted search query is crucial for retrieving the most relevant documents. This step involves techniques to improve the initial user query:

* **Query Expansion:** Adding synonyms or related terms to broaden the search. For example, if a user asks about "Meilisearch's documentation," a query expansion model might also include terms like "Meilisearch docs" or "Meilisearch reference." If the query is “Who won the world cup at the end of the last century”, a query expansion model may include terms like “1998 world cup”, “soccer world champions”, etc.  
* **Query Rephrasing:** Rewording the query to make it more direct and concise, helping the search engine find a better match. A user query like "What are some of the features of Meilisearch's hosted solution?" could be rephrased to "Meilisearch Cloud features." If the query is something poorly written like “Gee, I wonder who won the last world cup in the previous century”, the model can rephrase it as “1998 football world cup champion.”

These methods ensure that even if the user's phrasing is a bit clunky or non-technical, the search engine receives an optimal query.

![generating-better-search-query.png](https://unable-actionable-car.media.strapiapp.com/generating_better_search_query_a7854dbb72.png)

### Step 2: The Search for an Answer

This is where the magic of retrieval happens. As we discussed in our [previous post](https://www.meilisearch.com/blog/mastering-rag), the most effective way to search is through a **hybrid approach**. This method combines:

* **Full-Text Search:** Identifies documents containing the exact keywords from your query. This is great for factual recall and precision.  
* **Semantic Search:** Finds documents that are contextually or semantically similar to your query, even if they don't contain the exact keywords. This is powered by [**vector embeddings**](https://www.meilisearch.com/blog/what-are-vector-embeddings), which represent the meaning of text.

Meilisearch excels at this step by providing a unified, integrated hybrid search engine. Unlike systems that require you to manage a separate vector database, a keyword search engine, and a re-ranking model, Meilisearch handles all of this out of the box with a scoring method, reducing complexity and operational overhead.

![searching-for-answer.png](https://unable-actionable-car.media.strapiapp.com/searching_for_answer_54ca6d051c.png)

### Step 3: Generating a Good Response

Once the most relevant documents are retrieved, the LLM is given two key pieces of information:

1. **The Original User Query:** The question the user asked.  
2. **The Retrieved Documents:** The "context" or "ground truth" information found in step 2\.

These are combined with a carefully crafted **preamble** or **system prompt**, which provides the LLM with specific instructions. This is a critical step for preventing hallucinations. A good preamble does the following:

* **Instructs Synthesis:** Tells the LLM to synthesize information from the provided documents rather than just repeating them.  
* **Requires Citations:** Instructs the LLM to cite the sources it used, reinforcing accuracy and giving the user confidence in the answer.  
* **Handles Ambiguity:** Instructs the LLM to explicitly state when it cannot find an answer in the provided documents (e.g., "I couldn't find any information on that topic"), preventing it from generating a fabricated response.

![generating-good-response.png](https://unable-actionable-car.media.strapiapp.com/generating_good_response_9de799617d.png)

## Meilisearch Advantages: Streamlining, latency, and more

### A Streamlined RAG System

[Building a RAG pipeline](https://www.meilisearch.com/blog/how-to-build-a-rag-pipepline) from scratch can be a complex and brittle process. It often involves integrating multiple services: a traditional search engine, a vector database, an embedding model, and a re-ranking model. Each of these components needs to be deployed, configured, and maintained independently.

This is where Meilisearch's approach stands out.

Meilisearch simplifies the [RAG workflow](https://www.meilisearch.com/blog/how-to-build-a-rag-pipepline) by providing a single, powerful platform that integrates hybrid search natively. Instead of managing a complex web of interconnected services, developers can leverage Meilisearch's unified solution. This dramatically reduces **operational overhead** and the number of moving parts that can break or fall out of sync.

* **Simplified Deployment:** Meilisearch's all-in-one architecture means you can get your RAG system up and running faster. There's no need to spend time configuring separate APIs or dealing with compatibility issues between different tools.  
* **Easier Maintenance:** When new embedding models are released or your data schema changes, updating a multi-component system can be a nightmare. Meilisearch's integrated approach means that updates and fine-tuning are managed from a single point, making your system more robust and easier to evolve.

### Latency Improvements

One of the most significant performance advantages of Meilisearch's unified approach is **latency**. In a multi-component RAG system, the user query might have to go through several network hops and API calls:

1. Query to an embedding model (API call).  
   2. Embeddings sent to a vector database (API call).  
   3. Query sent to a full-text search engine (API call).  
   4. Results from both are sent to a re-ranking model (another API call).  
   5. Finally, the re-ranked results are sent to the LLM (API call).

Each of these steps adds milliseconds of latency. Meilisearch performs all of these steps internally in a single search request, drastically reducing the total time from query to retrieved documents. This leads to a much faster and more responsive user experience.

In essence, Meilisearch's unified solution allows you to focus on what matters most: building an amazing user experience powered by your data. It provides the performance, ease of use, and flexibility needed to build and scale a state-of-the-art RAG application without the headaches of managing a complex infrastructure. If you’d like a hands-on tutorial on implementing RAG with Meilisearch, check out [this blog post](https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.meilisearch.com/blog/how-to-build-rag).

From RAG to riches: Building a practical workflow with Meilisearch’s all-in-one tool

Adaptive RAG explained: What to know in 2025

Speculative RAG: A faster retrieval-augmented generation

Here's everything we shipped this month at Meilisearch.

## Horizontal scaling with sharding

[![Horizontal scaling with sharding](https://unable-actionable-car.media.strapiapp.com/horizontal_scaling_with_sharding_792a7928b3.jpg)](https://www.meilisearch.com/blog/horizontal-scaling-with-sharding)

We introduced experimental support for sharding, enabling horizontal scaling. [Read more](https://www.meilisearch.com/blog/horizontal-scaling-with-sharding).

## SOC2 compliance

[![SOC 2 Type II announcement.jpg](https://unable-actionable-car.media.strapiapp.com/SOC_2_Type_II_announcement_fc6def3aea.jpg)](https://www.meilisearch.com/blog/soc2-typeii-compliance)

Meilisearch is now SOC2 Type II compliant. [Read more](https://www.meilisearch.com/blog/soc2-typeii-compliance).

## Multi-modal search

[![Example payload for a multi-modal request](https://unable-actionable-car.media.strapiapp.com/multi_modal_request_120e32cdc9.jpg)](https://www.meilisearch.com/blog/meilisearch-1-16#new-multi-modal-search-and-embeddings)

Leverage the new fragments API to get out-of-the-box multi-modal embeddings and search. [Read more](https://www.meilisearch.com/blog/meilisearch-1-16#new-multi-modal-search-and-embeddings).

## Product updates

New search features
- Stabilize the `STARTS_WITH` [filter](https://www.meilisearch.com/docs/learn/filtering_and_sorting/filter_expression_reference#starts-with) with improved performance
- Allow using the `EXIST` filter on `_vectors` fields

DX improvements
- Allow sorting on the [documents API](https://www.meilisearch.com/docs/reference/api/documents)
- Allow renaming indexes via the [index update](https://www.meilisearch.com/docs/reference/api/indexes#update-an-index) and [index swap](https://www.meilisearch.com/docs/reference/api/indexes#swap-indexes) APIs
- Search API responses can now [include query and documents vectors](https://www.meilisearch.com/docs/reference/api/search#display-vectors-in-response)
- New [webhooks API](https://www.meilisearch.com/docs/reference/api/webhooks) to trigger workflows after task processing
- Transfer documents between instances with the [export API](https://www.meilisearch.com/docs/reference/api/export)
- Improved hybrid search performance when using filters

Dashboard improvements
- Login: multiple OAuth providers can now be linked to the same account
- Tasks: allow tasks cancellation from the UI

## In the news

- [Introducing Meilisearch Enterprise Edition](https://www.meilisearch.com/blog/enterprise-license) Meilisearch is moving to a dual licensing model to serve both our community and enterprise users better.

- [What is RAG and how does it work?](https://www.meilisearch.com/blog/what-is-rag) Our complete guide to Retrieval-Augmented Generation.

- [Meilisearch voice search demo](https://voice.meilisearch.com/) Search for electronic products using your voice.

- `_geoPolygon` [filter prototype](https://chantiers-paris.vercel.app/) Check out this map of Paris construction sites built using the upcoming geo filter.

- [Flexible infrastructure pricing](https://www.meilisearch.com/pricing/platform) Customize the infrastructure for your Meilisearch deployment.

---

_We’re always looking to promote new projects from our [Discord community](https://dub.sh/meili-discord?utm_campaign=newsletter&utm_source=blog&utm_medium=july-25-updates). Share yours!_

---

## Contributors shout-out

Thanks to [@curquiza](https://github.com/curquiza), [@dureuill](https://github.com/dureuill), [@irevoire](https://github.com/irevoire), [@Kerollmops](https://github.com/Kerollmops) [@LeSuisse](https://github.com/LeSuisse), [@ManyTheFish](https://github.com/ManyTheFish), [@martin-g](https://github.com/martin-g), [@Mubelotix](https://github.com/Mubelotix), and [@qdequele](https://github.com/qdequele) for their contribution to [Meilisearch](https://git.new/meilisearch) 🙌

## We’re hiring

Check out our open position:
- [Senior Software Engineer](https://www.meilisearch.com/careers)

---

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For anything else, join our developers community on [Discord](https://dub.sh/meili-discord?utm_campaign=newsletter&utm_source=blog&utm_medium=august-25-updates).

August Changelog

Corrective RAG, or CRAG, is about fixing what standard RAG systems often get wrong. 

Instead of allowing irrelevant or weak context to enter your large language model (LLM) pipeline, CRAG performs checks and corrections, resulting in sharper, faster, and more trustworthy answers.

This guide will show you how CRAG works, why it matters, and where it fits into modern AI workflows. By the end, you’ll know when to use CRAG, where its limits are, and how it compares to other methods like speculative RAG.

Here’s what we’ll cover:

* What CRAG is, how it is an upgrade to traditional RAG, and why it matters in real LLM applications.
* The key components, the workflow that ties them together, and how to implement CRAG in practice.
* When CRAG should be used, what limitations to expect, and how it differs from speculative RAG.

Now, let’s examine the basics more closely.

## What is corrective RAG (CRAG)?

Corrective retrieval-augmented generation, or CRAG, is a [type of RAG-based](https://www.meilisearch.com/blog/rag-types) approach used to improve the reliability of AI-generated answers. 

Instead of simply passing retrieved documents to a language model without any adjustments, CRAG introduces an additional step – it evaluates, filters, and refines the retrieved information before an answer is generated.

This dramatically reduces the risk of AI hallucinations and boosts confidence in the generated response.

Let’s see how CRAG improves the traditional RAG in workflows. 

## How does corrective RAG improve traditional RAG?

A [traditional RAG](https://www.meilisearch.com/blog/what-is-rag) performs document retrieval from a knowledge base and feeds the docs directly to the LLM. The LLM then uses this raw context to generate answers. 

In a traditional RAG pipeline, irrelevant, noisy, or incomplete retrieval results can sometimes slip through, leading to inaccurate outputs. 

CRAG, on the other hand, applies corrective steps before the context reaches the language model. Retrieved documents are filtered, ranked, verified, and even enriched if needed before being passed on to the LLM. 

That way, the LLM receives high-quality, relevant documents before it generates an answer.

![corrective rag-1.png](https://unable-actionable-car.media.strapiapp.com/corrective_rag_1_83b8b193db.png)


## Why is CRAG important in LLM applications?

CRAG makes LLMs more dependable for real-world use cases. 

Here’s why CRAG matters in LLM applications:

* Reduces hallucinations by eliminating weak or misleading inputs before they reach the LLM.
* Improves user trust by consistently providing relevant, accurate, and explainable answers.
* Supports high-stakes use cases such as customer support, healthcare, finance, or enterprise search.

In short, CRAG is vital in production-ready systems that organizations can truly rely on. It also naturally connects with knowledge refinement strategies, helping ensure that external data sources are clean before being used.

## What are the key components of corrective RAG?

Corrective RAG works by layering corrective mechanisms over traditional RAG's basic retriever–generator setup. 

CRAG includes the following key components:


### 1. Retriever

The retriever is responsible for gathering candidate documents from the knowledge base. 

In CRAG, retrieval isn’t limited to a single method – it often combines [vector store search](https://www.meilisearch.com/blog/what-is-vector-search), keyword filtering, and hybrid search to reduce the chances of irrelevant results. 

The retriever creates a pool of potential context, which can be evaluated and refined before the next step.

### 2. Evaluator

As the name suggests, the retrieval evaluator assesses the quality of the retrieved information. Based on relevance and confidence score metrics, it scores the content for relevance and filters out the low-confidence results. 

This is to ensure that the generator isn’t exposed to poor context. In some implementations, evaluators can even run a binary score check or a grade_documents style function to validate candidate results.


### 3. Generator

The generator is the LLM that produces answers. Unlike in a basic RAG pipeline, the generator in CRAG is never fed unchecked inputs. It receives only validated context. 


### 4. Feedback loop

The feedback loop is how the system is continually improved. It uses feedback from outputs to improve its confidence scores, logs user questions, and identifies user feedback to pinpoint errors or gaps that may be causing issues. 

Over time, this loop can expand the knowledge base, retrain retrieval models, and refine evaluator criteria, making CRAG more effective with each iteration. Techniques like self-reflection or even query re-writing can enhance this stage further.

Next, we will map out how these pieces fit into a corrective RAG workflow.

## What does a corrective RAG workflow look like?

A corrective RAG workflow adds evaluation and correction layers to the standard retrieval–generation cycle. The goal is to ensure the language model works only with the most reliable and relevant context.

![image7.png](https://unable-actionable-car.media.strapiapp.com/image7_0064aea584.png)

1. **Query input:** The process starts with a user query. The system interprets intent and sets up retrieval.
2. **Retrieval:** The retriever fetches candidate passages from the knowledge base, often using hybrid methods like keyword plus vector search, as detailed in our guide to[ RAG techniques](https://www.meilisearch.com/blog/rag-techniques). Tools like Meilisearch, LangChain, LlamaIndex, or even Tavily as a web search tool can be integrated here.
3. **Evaluation:** The evaluator reviews both the context and the draft response. It filters out weak or irrelevant passages and ensures only high-confidence context continues forward. Evaluators might rely on a grader system powered by OpenAI embeddings or transformers.
4. **Generation:** The retrieved context is passed to the language model. At this stage, the model drafts a response based on the available information.
5. **Correction:** Before finalizing the answer, the system reranks, replaces, or augments weak passages. In some cases, it may even expand retrieval to fill in gaps using a text_splitter or a transform_query step.
6. **Iteration:** User feedback, confidence scores, and query logs feed into the feedback loop, helping the system improve retrieval quality over time.

This workflow resembles a graphstate architecture, where different nodes—retriever, evaluator, generator, feedback—connect through a structured schema. Frameworks like langgraph or langchain_core allow developers to compile such pipelines and extend them with as_retriever utilities.

## How to implement corrective RAG

Corrective RAG adds a quality gate between document retrieval and generation. You start by setting up fast recall, then add steps to rerank, validate, and refine context before passing it to the language model.

The implementation can be done in Python, integrating libraries from GitHub. Advanced users sometimes explore self-rag systems, where the model runs an internal web search or external knowledge lookup before committing to a final response.

### 1. Index data with Meilisearch

The first step is to load documents into a search index and adjust retrieval controls so you can quickly recall candidates and apply filters or synonyms before performing any corrective checks.

```python
# pip install meilisearch
from meilisearch import Client
client = Client("http://127.0.0.1:7700", "MASTER_KEY")
idx = client.index("docs")
docs = [
 {"id": "1", "title": "FAQ: Billing", "body": "Upgrade rules and discounts."},
 {"id": "2", "title": "Guide: Exports", "body": "CSV, JSON, API sync details."},
 {"id": "3", "title": "Policy: Refunds", "body": "Refund window is 30 days."}
]
idx.add_documents(docs)
idx.update_settings({
 "searchableAttributes": ["title", "body"],
 "filterableAttributes": ["title"],
 "typoTolerance": {"enabled": True},
 "synonyms": {"refund": ["return", "money back"]}
})
```


### 2. Retrieve candidates and rerank with corrective signals

After recall, the next step is to rerank and validate results. This filters out noisy passages and guarantees that only high-confidence context is passed to generation.


```python
query = "What is the refund policy?"
# Fast recall from Meilisearch
hits = idx.search(query, {"limit": 10})["hits"]
# Example: simple heuristic reranker
def relevance_score(hit, q):
 text = (hit.get("title","") + " " + hit.get("body","")).lower()
 return sum(1 for term in q.lower().split() if term in text)
scored = sorted(hits, key=lambda h: relevance_score(h, query), reverse=True)
# Keep high-confidence candidates only
CUTOFF = 3
candidates = scored[:CUTOFF]
# Optional: LLM-as-judge to validate each candidate against the query
def llm_validate(q, passage) -> float:
 # Return a 0–1 score. Stub here for brevity.
 return 0.9 if "refund" in passage.lower() else 0.4
validated = []
for c in candidates:
 score = llm_validate(query, c["body"])
 if score >= 0.7:
 validated.append({**c, "crag_score": score})
```


With clean and reliable candidates, the next step is to check for contradictions or missing pieces, then correct or augment the context before generation.


### 3. Evaluate and correct the context

We will validate the shortlisted passages and correct them when needed. This step catches contradictions, fills gaps, and removes duplicates so only strong evidence reaches the model.


```python
from collections import defaultdict
def detect_duplicates(items):
 seen, out = set(), []
 for it in items:
 key = (it.get("title",""), it.get("body",""))
 if key not in seen:
 seen.add(key); out.append(it)
 return out
def needs_more_evidence(query, validated):
 has_refund = any("refund" in c["body"].lower() for c in validated)
 return not has_refund
def expand_query(query):
 return [query, "refund window", "return policy", "money back"]
validated = detect_duplicates(validated)
if needs_more_evidence(query, validated):
 aug_terms = expand_query(query)
 more = []
 for t in aug_terms:
 more.extend(idx.search(t, {"limit": 5})["hits"])
 # simple merge then rerun validator
 merged = detect_duplicates(validated + more)
 revalidated = []
 for c in merged:
 score = llm_validate(query, c["body"])
 if score >= 0.7:
 revalidated.append({**c, "crag_score": score})
 validated = revalidated
```


Next, only the corrected and validated context is passed on to the language model.


### 4. Assemble the prompt and generate the final answer

We need to combine the refined passages into a compact prompt with clear instructions. For this, you will need to ask for citations and require the model to ignore low-confidence content.


```python
def make_context(validated, max_chars=1800):
 out, used = "", []
 for c in validated:
 piece = f"[{c.get('id','')}] {c.get('title','')}: {c.get('body','')}\n"
 if len(out) + len(piece) <= max_chars:
 out += piece; used.append(c)
 return out, used
ctx_text, used_passages = make_context(validated)
prompt = f"""
You are a careful assistant.
Question: {query}
Evidence:
{ctx_text}
Instructions:
1) Answer strictly from Evidence.
2) Cite sources by their IDs like [1], [2].
3) If Evidence is insufficient, say "Not enough information" and list missing facts.
Return a concise, factual answer.
"""
from openai import OpenAI
import os
client = OpenAI(api_key=os.environ.get("OPENAI_API_KEY","YOUR_API_KEY"))
response = client.chat.completions.create(
 model="gpt-4o",
 messages=[{"role":"user","content": prompt}]
)
answer = response.choices[0].message.content
print(answer)
```


Next, close the loop with feedback so the system learns and improves over time.


### 5. Log feedback and improve continuously

By closing the loop with feedback, you help the system record confidence, missing fields, and user signals so the pipeline can self-correct. This data allows us to tune retrieval settings in Meilisearch to expand coverage where gaps are common.


```python
feedback_log = []
CONFIDENCE_THRESHOLD = 0.7
def log_feedback(query, answer, confidence, missing=None):
 feedback_log.append({
 "query": query,
 "answer": answer,
 "confidence": confidence,
 "missing": missing or []
 })
def should_expand(entry):
 return entry["confidence"] < CONFIDENCE_THRESHOLD or len(entry["missing"]) > 0
def auto_expand(missing_terms):
 for term in missing_terms:
 hits = idx.search(term, {"limit": 10})["hits"]
 # here you would extract entities, relations, and upsert to your store
 # or keep the hits for future retrieval tuning
# example usage
log_feedback(query, answer, confidence=0.68, missing=["refund timeframe", "exceptions"])
for entry in feedback_log:
 if should_expand(entry):
 auto_expand(entry["missing"])
```


This completes the corrective flow. 

You now have fast recall with Meilisearch, corrective scoring and validation, targeted augmentation, safe generation, and a learning loop that keeps improving.

## When should you use CRAG?

Like traditional RAG, corrective RAG is most useful in industries or situations where precision is essential. As it improves upon traditional RAG with better context and retrieval, CRAG becomes a much more valuable tool. 

Let’s see where we can use it:

* **Customer support:** A chatbot fed the proper context performs far better than one with misleading context. 
* **Healthcare:** CRAG plays a significant role in healthcare by validating retrieved studies and records, so clinical support tools rely only on trustworthy medical evidence.
* **Legal research:** Corrective RAG grounds answers in the right case law, statutes, and precedents to avoid hallucinations or imprecise citations.
* **Financial services:** CRAG screens market data, reports, and filings before generation, reducing the risk of misleading compliance or poor investment insights.
* **Enterprise knowledge management:** In knowledge bases, CRAG improves internal search by resolving contradictions and filtering out duplicate or noisy content across teams.
* **Education and training:** In education and training, CRAG can support tutoring systems by delivering fact-checked explanations rather than shallow or misleading answers.

CRAG adoption in these high-stakes domains adds a layer of trust to AI systems.

## What are the limitations of corrective RAG?

CRAG offers developers a plethora of perks and benefits, but these come with certain tradeoffs. For instance, it dramatically improves factuality but can also limit scalability and performance. 

Here are some other CRAG limitations to keep in mind:

* **Computational cost:** More detailed steps mean more computational costs. If we want to run retrieval, evaluation, and correction, the latency infrastructure requirements go up. For applications needing real-time responses, this can be a challenge.
* **Dependency on feedback mechanisms:** CRAG relies heavily on evaluators or human-in-the-loop feedback to refine outputs. If feedback quality is poor or inconsistent, the corrections can be less effective.
* **Potential overcorrection:** With correction, there’s always potential for overcorrection, and you might lose useful but unconventional information.
* **Complexity of implementation:** Layers upon layers mean a higher chance of something going wrong.
* **Limited adaptability:** If the correction logic is too rigid, the system may struggle to adjust quickly to new datasets or changing data sources without retraining or fine-tuning.

Despite these challenges, CRAG is still a powerful approach for domains where accuracy outweighs latency or cost. 

Let’s see how corrective RAG differs from speculative RAG.

## How does corrective RAG differ from speculative RAG?

The main difference between corrective RAG and speculative RAG is *when and how* corrections or predictions occur during the retrieval–generation process. 

Corrective RAG evaluates the generated output and fixes errors after retrieval, while[ speculative RAG](https://www.meilisearch.com/blog/speculative-rag) speeds up response generation by predicting multiple candidate outputs early and pruning them later.

![corrective rag.png](https://unable-actionable-car.media.strapiapp.com/corrective_rag_7f8c530bc5.png)

In short, CRAG emphasizes trustworthiness, while speculative RAG prioritizes speed. Both can complement each other depending on system goals.

## Final thoughts on building with corrective RAG

Corrective RAG helps close the gap between speed and reliability in generative AI systems. Adding evaluation and correction loops reduces hallucinations and gives you more trustworthy outputs in real-world applications.

Corrective RAG (CRAG): Workflow, implementation, and more

RAG (retrieval-augmented generation) represents a way for AI systems to retrieve and use relevant information from external knowledge sources to generate more accurate responses. 

Instead of relying only on training data, RAG uses real-time data (from documents or databases) before generating responses.

Different types of RAG architecture handle various tasks, depending on the level of complexity. 

Some RAG types are simple; they retrieve once and generate an answer. 

Other types require multiple steps (such as retrieving, refining, and re-generating) to improve the quality of their response. 

Here is a table that briefly describes the various RAG types along with their use cases.

![RAG types.png](https://unable-actionable-car.media.strapiapp.com/RAG_types_0be7d3e99b.png)

## 1. Simple RAG (original)

Simple RAG (original) refers to the most basic form of [retrieval-augmented generation](https://www.meilisearch.com/blog/what-is-rag), where the AI system retrieves relevant documents from a knowledge base in a single step and uses that information to generate a response. 

It is the most straightforward implementation.

![Simple RAG (Original).png](https://unable-actionable-car.media.strapiapp.com/Simple_RAG_Original_b58e096a23.png)

Simple RAG works by converting a user query into embeddings, searching a vector database for semantically similar content, retrieving the top matching documents, and then feeding your original question and the retrieved information to a large language model (LLM) for answer generation. The retrieval process is predictable.

Simple RAG is used in basic question answering systems, chatbots, or FAQ automation, where questions have relatively straightforward answers.

**Pros:**

* Fast response times
* Easy to set up and implement
* Low computational cost

**Cons:**

* Struggles with questions requiring multiple sources
* No feedback after generating a response
* Does not improve if the data retrieval is poor

## 2. Simple RAG with memory

RAG with memory refers to an enhanced version of simple RAG that can remember previous conversations. 

In the context of RAG, memory refers to the AI system's ability to keep track of past interactions (such as past questions, answers, or retrieved documents). It does not just remember what was said, but understands how previous context can influence new searches. 

![Simple RAG but With Memory.png](https://unable-actionable-car.media.strapiapp.com/Simple_RAG_but_With_Memory_2d48540c41.png)

Simple RAG with memory works by storing key parts of previous conversations and using them with new queries to generate better answers. 

For instance, if a user asks about the capital of France and later refers to ‘its population,’ the system recalls the context to determine that the user's query is still referring to Paris. 

RAG with memory is used in personal AI agents, conversational chatbots, customer support systems, or educational tutoring platforms.

**Pros:**

* Reduces repetitive explanations
* Encourages more human-like interactions
* Personalizes responses based on user conversation history

**Cons:**

* Higher processing cost than the original simple RAG
* Higher risk of retrieving outdated or incorrect information
* Raises questions about data privacy

## 3. Agentic RAG

[Agentic RAG](https://www.meilisearch.com/blog/agentic-rag) is a more dynamic RAG that acts like an experienced researcher. Instead of just retrieving the first relevant documents, it plans its approach, decides what to investigate, and then takes action using associated tools. 

Agentic RAG works by breaking down a task into smaller steps. It figures out what your question needs and then searches various data sources for valuable information. 

It does not stop at the first result. It checks whether what it found answers the question, and if not, it continues searching. 

![Agentic RAG.png](https://unable-actionable-car.media.strapiapp.com/Agentic_RAG_bc913668a1.png)

Agentic RAG can be used in legal research where lawyers conduct comprehensive case analysis, and in financial analysis that combines market data with regulatory information. Agentic RAG is useful when you require methodical planning.

**Pros:**

* Good for multi-step reasoning
* Intelligent decision-making about information gathering
* Can improve performance on complex queries

**Cons:**

* Costs more to run due to multiple searches
* Difficult to build and manage
* Takes longer to respond since it is doing actual research work


## 4. Graph RAG

[Graph RAG](https://www.meilisearch.com/blog/graph-rag) uses a knowledge graph to understand how different pieces of information are connected. It finds relationships and patterns between pieces of data rather than just searching for matching words.

![Graph RAG.png](https://unable-actionable-car.media.strapiapp.com/Graph_RAG_b6ffce03d4.png)

Graph RAG works by mapping out how different entities in your knowledge base are interconnected. It then uses these relationships to find relevant data. Even if a document does not have your exact search terms, it might still be helpful if it is conceptually related.

Graph RAG is used in fields where the relationships between concepts are crucial, such as investigative journalism, which uncovers hidden connections, or business intelligence, which requires understanding market relationships.

**Pros:**

* Great for complex questions requiring connecting multiple concepts
* Helps prevent scattered answers
* Can provide unexpected but relevant responses

**Cons:**

* Requires significant work to build the knowledge graph
* Slower than basic RAG systems
* Only as good as the connections you have taught it to recognize

## 5. Self-RAG

Self-RAG is a type of RAG that improves its search by rewriting your question before looking for answers. It behaves like a researcher who constantly questions their work. 

Self-RAG works by first providing an answer based on the retrieved data, then using specialized evaluation modules to check whether the answer is accurate and supported by the source material. It uses a language model to rewrite the original query, adding missing context and inferred intent from previous conversations.

![Self-RAG.png](https://unable-actionable-car.media.strapiapp.com/Self_RAG_44c6d5034a.png)

Self-RAG is used when questions are incomplete or there is insufficient detail to retrieve the proper documents. 

**Pros:**

* Catches and corrects its own mistakes before you see them
* Helps get better results from vague questions
* More reliable in scenarios where accuracy matters

**Cons:**

* Higher costs to run all those extra checks
* Slower since it is doing the work twice
* Can be too cautious and refuse to answer when uncertain


## 6. Branched RAG

Branched RAG is a type of RAG that explores multiple lines of thought simultaneously before deciding on the best answer. 

![Branched RAG.png](https://unable-actionable-car.media.strapiapp.com/Branched_RAG_a2d1bf0ffd.png)

Branched RAG works by generating responses for different interpretations of your question, retrieving answers for each one, and then comparing the answers to pick the most relevant response.

Branched RAG is used in comprehensive market research, where structured data such as technical specifications, competitor insights, and customer feedback are needed simultaneously.

**Pros:**

* Handles open-ended questions well
* Less likely to miss important aspects of complex questions
* Can provide more thoughtful final response

**Cons:**

* Complex to coordinate findings from different sources
* Can overwhelm users with information if not properly filtered

## 7. Multimodal RAG

Multimodal RAG is a version of RAG that simultaneously uses text, images, videos, audio files, charts, and documents to answer your questions. 

![Multimodal RAG.png](https://unable-actionable-car.media.strapiapp.com/Multimodal_RAG_2c097525a4.png)

[Multimodal RAG](https://www.meilisearch.com/blog/multimodal-rag) converts different types of content (a graph, a photo, a video clip, or a document) into a format it can search through and understand. When you ask a question, it looks through all these different media types to find relevant information and combines everything to provide an accurate response.

Multimodal RAG is used to analyze files that combine text and other forms of media.

**Pros:**

* Works with any type of content
* Provides complete answers using different sources
* Great for visual topics that need multiple perspectives

**Cons:**

* More complex to build and train
* Requires more storage and processing power
* Quality depends on how well it interprets various data formats

## 8. Adaptive RAG

[Adaptive RAG](https://www.meilisearch.com/blog/adaptive-rag) is a RAG model that learns from experience. It pays attention to what works and what doesn’t, and gradually improves its ability to respond to different kinds of questions. 

![Adaptive RAG.png](https://unable-actionable-car.media.strapiapp.com/Adaptive_RAG_60242702c1.png)

Adaptive RAG works by first recognizing the type of question (simple, complex, broad, or narrow) it received, then adjusting its retrieval process and generation style based on the question to provide an accurate answer.

Adaptive RAG is used in systems that deal with all kinds of queries, such as customer support bots, research tools, and digital assistants.

**Pros:**

* Gets better at helping you over time by learning your preferences
* Improves relevance by adjusting to the query type
* Can balance speed and depth when required

**Cons:**

* It takes time to learn and improve, so early results might be inconsistent
* More complex to build and maintain than static RAG architectures
* Can get stuck in bad habits if it learns from poor examples


## 9. Speculative RAG

[Speculative RAG](https://www.meilisearch.com/blog/speculative-rag) does not wait for you to finish asking your question. Instead, it anticipates what you might want to know next and pre-fetches that information in the background.

![A graph showing how speculative RAG works. ](https://unable-actionable-car.media.strapiapp.com/Speculative_RAG_4c1f083ea9.png)

Speculative RAG works by analyzing your current question and conversation history to predict likely follow-up queries. It then retrieves relevant documents for those anticipated questions while still working on your actual question, so when you do ask that follow-up, it already has the relevant data available.

Speculative RAG is used when speed matters, such as real-time chatbots, autocomplete suggestions, or customer service systems.

**Pros:**

* Faster response time
* Creates a more natural conversation flow
* Reduces waiting time when exploring complex topics

**Cons:**

* Risk of retrieving the wrong information if the guess is inaccurate
* Wastes computational resources on predictions that turn out wrong

## 10. Corrective RAG

[Corrective RAG](https://www.meilisearch.com/blog/corrective-rag) is designed to double-check its answers and correct them if something is wrong. 

![Corrective RAG.png](https://unable-actionable-car.media.strapiapp.com/Corrective_RAG_fa0994f373.png)

Corrective RAG works by doing the usual search and generating an answer, but then it steps back and asks, ‘Does this fully answer the question?’ 

If the answer feels off, it drops the weaker sources and tries a new search to find more relevant information before updating the response.

Corrective RAG is used when accuracy is important, such as in legal research, academic writing, or policy analysis.

**Pros:**

* Catches and fixes poor search results before you see them
*  Improves the reliability and accuracy of generated responses
* Adds an extra layer of quality control

**Cons:**

* Takes longer since it might need multiple search attempts
* Can get stuck in loops if it is never satisfied with what it finds
* Uses more computational resources performing extra searches


## 11. Modular RAG

[Modular RAG](https://www.meilisearch.com/blog/modular-rag) is like a toolkit: different modules handle different parts of the process, and you can combine them however you want, depending on the use case. 

The system is flexible, so you can swap in a new retriever, a better reranker, or a different generator. 

![Modular RAG.png](https://unable-actionable-car.media.strapiapp.com/Modular_RAG_f45a20e140.png)

Modular RAG works by breaking the system into separate components, allowing you to customize each part without rebuilding the entire system. 

Modular RAG is used across multiple domain-specific research environments and production AI applications.

**Pros:**

* Can easily optimize each component
* Easy to upgrade or replace components without starting afresh
* Great for customizing workflows

**Cons:**

* More complex to coordinate all the different components
* Takes planning ahead to figure out how all the parts will fit together

## 12. Naive RAG

Naive RAG is the simplest form of RAG. It pulls documents based on your question and passes them straight to the model without making any adjustments.

![Naive RAG.png](https://unable-actionable-car.media.strapiapp.com/Naive_RAG_2535319547.png)

Naive RAG works by converting your question into basic search terms, pulling the top documents that match those terms, and then passing them straight to the language model to generate a response. There is no filtering or reranking; it is just a simple matching algorithm.

Naive RAG is used in simple chatbots with a limited scope and basic FAQ systems where questions are predictable.

**Pros:**

* Very simple to build and understand
* Fast, since there is no complex processing involved
* Low computational costs

**Cons:**

* Struggles with complex questions
* No verification of search results
* Often retrieves irrelevant documents that affect the final answer


## 13. Advanced RAG

[Advanced RAG](https://www.meilisearch.com/blog/rag-techniques) is a more refined version of RAG that combines multiple steps (such as reranking, memory, feedback loops, branching, improved data retrieval, etc.) to get more accurate results.

![Advanced RAG.png](https://unable-actionable-car.media.strapiapp.com/Advanced_RAG_9b806ab383.png)

Advanced RAG works by layering various RAG techniques: it can rewrite the query to make it more straightforward, rank the results, check if the answer makes sense, and even review it if required, all to ensure that the generated response is the most relevant and accurate.

Advanced RAG is used in systems when making mistakes is not an option, such as in research tools or enterprise applications.

**Pros:**

* Handles complex questions better
* Smart enough to know which approach works best for different situations
* Offers more control over how results are generated

**Cons:**

* Requires expertise to build and keep running properly
* Requires careful fine-tuning to ensure all parts work together effectively
* Expensive to run due to its background work

## 14. HyDE (hypothetical document embedding)

HyDE is a unique approach in RAG in which the AI model starts by generating a guess as to what a good answer might look like and then uses that guess to search for real documents that match it.

![HyDe.png](https://unable-actionable-car.media.strapiapp.com/Hy_De_c9bf688f29.png)

HyDE works by generating a hypothetical answer first, converting it into a search query, and then retrieving real documents similar to the imagined one. This is the opposite of how you expect searches to work.

HyDE is used when traditional keyword searches struggle. It is helpful in academic research systems, legal databases, or medical information systems.

**Pros:**

* Focuses on semantic meaning, not just matching terms
* Useful in technical domains that are hard to search
* Helpful when the original query is missing key details

**Cons:**

* Harder to explain how it got its result
* Slow because of the added steps
* The hypothetical answer might lead the searcher down completely wrong paths


## Why are there different types of RAG architecture?

Different types of RAG architecture exist because no single setup works well in every situation. You choose what works best for you based on your intended use case.

Some tasks require speed and simplicity, while others call for deeper analysis, multiple sources, or even different types of input, such as images or graphs. 

For example, simple RAG can handle quick and straightforward queries. But if you are working on complex research or handling messy data, you might consider something smarter, such as agentic or self-RAG.

Now, let’s see the importance of RAG.


## What is the importance of RAG?

[RAG is a technique](https://www.meilisearch.com/blog/rag-techniques) that combines information retrieval with generative AI. It retrieves documents from a knowledge base and uses them to generate a more relevant and accurate answer.

It is important because it helps language models stay grounded in true information rather than hallucinations. 

RAGs are widely used for various real-world use cases. 

Tech companies, for instance, use RAG to help support agents quickly find answers to technical issues without going through pages of documentation. 

Law firms use it to scan thousands of legal documents in seconds. 

Hospitals also use RAG to enable doctors to match patient symptoms with findings from medical literature, thereby improving their diagnosis and treatment decisions.


## What tools are used for RAG?

RAG tools are the building blocks that connect your data to powerful language models to deliver accurate results.

Here are some [retrieval-augmented generation tools](https://www.meilisearch.com/blog/rag-tools) that are used in different RAG applications:


* **Meilisearch:** A super-fast search engine that supports both keyword and vector search. It is excellent for balancing keyword and semantic search and works smoothly with embedding models through a simple API. 
* **LangChain:** An open-source orchestration framework that connects retrievers, embedding models, and generators. It helps manage your entire RAG pipeline and handles the process of integrating with APIs, databases, and file formats.
* **Weaviate:** A vector database built for production. It supports hybrid search, filtering, and fast, scalable queries. 
* **Faiss:** A vector search library developed by Meta. It allows you to index and search embeddings efficiently, ensuring that the AI system focuses on meaning instead of just keywords.
* **Haystack:** A complete RAG framework that combines retrieval, question answering, and generation. It is useful when you want all RAG components to work together seamlessly.

RAG tools are categorized based on the part of the pipeline they support (retrieval, generation process, orchestration, or storage). Choosing the right tool depends on what stage you are working on and what you are trying to build.


## Build efficient RAG systems with Meilisearch

Choosing the right RAG approach comes down to matching the architecture to the problem you’re solving. 

As the technology evolves, RAG will continue to play a central role in building AI systems that stay grounded in relevant data. 

Combining strong retrieval with effective generative models helps reduce errors, improve reliability, and make AI more useful in real-world scenarios – whether for quick lookups, complex research, or anything in between.

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