What is Agentic RAG?
A RAG system where an AI agent controls the retrieval strategy adaptively, rather than following a fixed pipeline.
Definition
Agentic RAG combines retrieval-augmented generation with autonomous agent behavior. Instead of a fixed retrieve-then-generate pipeline, an agentic RAG system uses an AI agent that decides when to retrieve, what to query, and how many retrieval rounds are needed based on the complexity of the question. It can call APIs, refine queries based on initial results, and synthesize information from multiple sources.
Example
A basic RAG system retrieves the top-3 documents for a question and answers. An agentic RAG system might search the knowledge base, find the answer is incomplete, search again with a refined query, check a live API for current data, and then synthesize a multi-source answer.
Agentic RAG vs rag: What's the difference?
A RAG system where an AI agent controls the retrieval strategy adaptively, rather than following a fixed pipeline.
Basic RAG follows a fixed pipeline. Agentic RAG lets the AI decide its own retrieval strategy based on intermediate results.