RAG Agents

Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) agents combine the capabilities of foundation models — including their reasoning abilities — with access to your organization’s proprietary knowledge. By retrieving relevant information and incorporating it into responses, RAG agents provide accurate, contextual answers grounded in your specific business documents and data.

What is Retrieval Augmented Generation?

RAG is an AI architecture that enhances large language models (LLMs) by connecting them to external knowledge sources. This approach allows models to access, retrieve, and integrate specific information that may be:

Beyond their training data
Proprietary to your organization
Frequently updated
Highly specialized or technical

RAG addresses one of the key limitations of foundation models: their inability to access specific, up-to-date, or proprietary information not included in their training data.

Key Components

Knowledge Base

Processed repository of organizational documents and information

Retrieval System

Mechanism for finding relevant information based on user queries

Context Management

Processing of retrieved information for optimal use by the model

Generation System

Creation of responses that incorporate the retrieved information

When to Use RAG Agents

RAG agents are ideal when you need AI systems that can:

Answer questions about your specific products, services, or domain
Provide accurate information from internal documentation
Stay current with frequently updated information
Generate responses grounded in factual, verifiable content
Reduce hallucinations and fabrications in AI outputs

Benefits of RAG

Knowledge Accuracy

Responses grounded in verified organizational information

Reduced Hallucinations

Minimized fabrication of facts or details

Information Freshness

Access to the latest information, beyond model training cutoff

Source Attribution

Traceability to source documents and references

Domain Specificity

Expertise in your organization’s unique knowledge areas

Knowledge Control

Governance over what information the AI can access and use

RAG Architecture

The architecture of a RAG agent consists of several interconnected components:

Document Processing

Converting raw documents into a format optimized for retrieval.

Key processes include:

Text extraction from various file formats
Chunking of content into manageable pieces
Embedding generation for semantic search
Metadata extraction and enrichment
Index creation and optimization

Query Processing

Transforming user questions into effective retrieval queries.Important components:

Query understanding and classification
Query expansion or reformulation
Query embedding generation
Metadata filtering and constraints
Hybrid search strategy selection

Retrieval

Finding the most relevant information from the knowledge base.Retrieval approaches include:

Semantic search using vector embeddings
Keyword search for precise term matching
Hybrid search combining multiple strategies
Metadata filtering for context-specific results
Relevance ranking and reranking

Context Assembly

Organizing retrieved information for optimal use by the model.Assembly considerations:

Context window size limitations
Information relevance prioritization
Document structure preservation
Source attribution maintenance
Contextual framing for the model

Response Generation

Creating answers that incorporate the retrieved information.

Generation aspects:

Integration of retrieved information
Citation of sources
Handling of conflicting information
Management of uncertainty
Response formatting and structure

Example Use Cases

Purpose: Assist users with technical questions based on product documentationKey Features:

Access to technical manuals and documentation
Ability to retrieve specific procedures and specifications
Troubleshooting guidance based on known issues
Source attribution to official documentation

Implementation Steps

Creating an effective RAG agent involves several key steps:

Define Knowledge Requirements

Identify what information the agent needs access to and how it will be used.Key questions to answer:

What specific knowledge domains should the agent cover?
What document types and sources will be included?
How often does the information change or update?
What level of detail is required in responses?
Are there security or privacy considerations for certain content?

Prepare Knowledge Base

Collect, process, and structure the information for effective retrieval.Essential activities:

Document collection and curation
Text extraction and preprocessing
Chunking strategy determination
Embedding model selection
Metadata definition and extraction
Index creation and optimization

Configure Retrieval System

Set up the mechanisms for finding relevant information.Key configurations:

Search strategy selection (semantic, keyword, hybrid)
Relevance threshold determination
Number of results to retrieve
Reranking algorithms
Metadata filtering rules

Design Context Management

Create processes for organizing and using retrieved information.Important considerations:

Context window management
Information prioritization
Source attribution approach
Handling conflicting information
Managing information overload

Develop Prompting Strategy

Create effective prompts that guide the model in using retrieved information.Strategy elements:

Clear instructions for information synthesis
Guidance on source citation
Handling of information gaps
Uncertainty management
Response structure and formatting

Test and Refine

Validate performance and iteratively improve.Testing approaches:

Representative query testing
Edge case validation
Retrieval quality assessment
Response accuracy evaluation
End-user usability testing

Best Practices

Document Processing Optimization

The quality of your knowledge base is foundational to RAG performance.Recommendations:

Effective chunking strategy: Balance chunk size to capture sufficient context while remaining focused
```
# Example chunking configuration
{
  "chunk_size": 1000,
  "chunk_overlap": 200
}
```
Quality embedding models: Use high-dimensional embeddings for better semantic representation

Metadata enrichment: Add metadata to improve filtering and relevance

# Example metadata fields
{
  "document_type": "policy",
  "department": "finance",
  "effective_date": "2023-09-01",
  "policy_number": "FIN-2023-05",
  "tags": ["managers", "finance_team"]
}

Regular updates: Establish processes for keeping the knowledge base current

Retrieval Tuning

By using the Builder with custom automation, you can fine-tune the balance between recall (finding all relevant information) and precision (avoiding irrelevant results), which is critical for optimal performance.Recommendations:

Hybrid search approaches: Combine semantic and keyword search for better results

# Example of hybrid search using Tools 
 
 - Knowledge Client.listDocuments:
      page: 0
      limit: 20
      filters:
        - field: content
          type: textSearch
          value: '{{body.arguments.keywords}}'
      includeContent: true
      provider: crawler
      output: documents
      includeMetadata: true

Query reformulation: Generate multiple query versions to improve retrieval

# Example query reformulation

  - Knowledge Client.chat-completion:
      messages:
        - role: assistant
          content: 'Given the following user question, generate 3 alternative phrasings that express the same intent. Return the result as a JSON object with a "reformulations" key.'
        - role: user
          content: 'Question: "{{user_question}}"'
      output: reformulations
  - set:
      name: output
      value:
        value: '{{reformulations}}'
        description: 'alternative phrasings of user question'

Reranking: Apply secondary ranking to improve result relevance
Context-aware filtering: Use conversation context to narrow search scope

Context Assembly

How you organize retrieved information significantly impacts response quality.Recommendations:

Context format standardization: Provide retrieved information in a consistent format

# Example context format
DOCUMENT: [Document Title]
SOURCE: [Source ID or URL]
DATE: [Publication or Last Updated Date]
SECTION: [Section Name]
CONTENT:
[Retrieved text]

DOCUMENT: [Next Document Title]
...

Source prioritization: Place more relevant or authoritative sources earlier in context

Context instructions: Include explicit instructions for how the model should use the provided information

# Example context instructions
The following information has been retrieved from company documentation. 
Use this information to answer the user's question. 
If the information is insufficient, acknowledge the limitations of the provided context.
Always cite the specific document and section when providing information.

Context window management: Be strategic about what fits in limited context windows

Response Generation Guidance

Clear instructions improve how models use retrieved information.Recommendations:

Source attribution requirements: Instruct on when and how to cite sources

# Example attribution instruction
Always cite the specific document name and section when providing information from the retrieved context.
Use the format: "According to [Document Name], section [Section Name], ..."

Information synthesis guidance: Explain how to combine information from multiple sources

# Example synthesis instruction
If multiple sources provide relevant information, synthesize them into a coherent response.
If sources conflict, acknowledge the discrepancy and clarify which source is more authoritative or recent.

Handling information gaps: Provide clear guidance for when retrieved information is insufficient

# Example information gap handling
If the retrieved information doesn't fully answer the user's question:
1. Provide what information is available
2. Clearly state what specific aspects cannot be addressed based on the available information
3. Suggest how the user might find the missing information (e.g., specific documentation to check)

Uncertainty management: Establish how to handle varying levels of confidence

Common Challenges and Solutions

Retrieval QualitySystem fails to find relevant informationHallucinations Despite RAGModel generates inaccurate information despite retrievalContext Window LimitationsRetrieved information exceeds model’s context capacityInconsistent InformationKnowledge base contains conflicting informationKnowledge FreshnessKnowledge base becomes outdated

Improve chunking strategy
Implement hybrid search
Add query reformulation
Use better embedding models
Add metadata for filtering

Strengthen instructions about using retrieved information
Improve relevance of retrieved content
Implement fact-checking mechanisms
Add explicit source citation requirements
Lower temperature settings for generation

Implement smarter chunking strategies
Improve relevance filtering
Compress or summarize retrieved content
Consider models with larger context windows

Implement content governance processes
Add metadata for content versioning
Provide conflict resolution guidelines
Prioritize more recent or authoritative sources
Acknowledge conflicts in responses

Implement regular update processes
Add timestamp metadata to all content
Create content expiration policies
Integrate with content management systems
Monitor and flag outdated information

Advanced RAG Techniques

Once you’ve mastered basic RAG implementation, consider these advanced techniques:

Multi-Stage Retrieval

Using AI Builder, implement a cascade of retrieval steps to improve both efficiency and accuracy.Example Process:

1. Initial broad retrieval: Use embeddings to find potentially relevant documents
2. Reranking: Apply more sophisticated models to rerank initial results
3. Focused retrieval: Perform targeted retrieval on the most promising documents
4. Final assembly: Combine the most relevant information for the model

This approach is particularly effective for large knowledge bases where a single retrieval step may miss important information or retrieve too much irrelevant content.

  - Knowledge Client.chat-completion:
      messages:
        - role: assistant
          content: |-
              You are an AI assistant tasked with evaluating the relevance of each document to the user's query.
              For each document, assign a relevance score from 1 (not relevant) to 5 (highly relevant), and provide a brief justification for the score.
              Return the results in JSON format, listing the documents in descending order of relevance.
              
              Documents:
              {{retrieved_documents}}

              Expected Output Format:
              {
                "reranked_documents": [
                  {
                    "document_id": "doc1",
                    "score": 5,
                    "justification": "This document directly addresses the user's query with detailed information."
                  },
                  {
                    "document_id": "doc2",
                    "score": 3,
                    "justification": "This document mentions the topic but lacks specific details."
                  },
                  {
                    "document_id": "doc3",
                    "score": 1,
                    "justification": "This document is unrelated to the user's query."
                  }
                ]
              }
        - role: user
          content: 'User Query: {{userQuery}}'
      output: reranked_documents

Query Enhancement

Improve retrieval by transforming user queries into more effective search queries.Techniques:

Query expansion: Add related terms to improve recall

Original: "vacation policy"
Expanded: "vacation policy time off leave holiday absence"

Hypothetical document embeddings: Generate embeddings for the ideal documents that would answer the query

Query decomposition: Break complex queries into sub-queries

Original: "What's our policy on remote work expenses for international employees?"
Decomposed:
- "remote work policy"
- "expense reimbursement policy"
- "international employee policies"

Conversational context incorporation: Include relevant previous exchanges

Self-Verification and Correction

Implement mechanisms for the agent to verify its own responses.Approaches:

1. Generate initial response based on retrieved information
2. Extract factual claims from the response
3. Verify each claim against the retrieved information
4. Correct or qualify statements that aren't fully supported
5. Regenerate improved response

This process can significantly reduce hallucinations and improve accuracy, particularly for complex or nuanced topics.

Knowledge Graph Integration

Implementation in Prisme.ai

Prisme.ai provides comprehensive support for RAG agent implementation through:

The AI Knowledge product provides a no-code interface for creating RAG agents:

Key features:

Document processing and management
Knowledge base creation and organization
RAG configuration and optimization
Agent creation and deployment
Performance analytics and monitoring

Learn more about AI Knowledge →

Getting Started

Prompting & RAG Agent

Tool-Using Agents

What is Retrieval Augmented Generation?

Key Components

Knowledge Base

Retrieval System

Context Management

Generation System

When to Use RAG Agents

Benefits of RAG

Knowledge Accuracy

Reduced Hallucinations

Information Freshness

Source Attribution

Domain Specificity

Knowledge Control

RAG Architecture

Example Use Cases

Implementation Steps

Best Practices

Common Challenges and Solutions

Advanced RAG Techniques

Implementation in Prisme.ai

Getting Started

Prompting & RAG Agent

Tool-Using Agents

​What is Retrieval Augmented Generation?

​Key Components

Knowledge Base

Retrieval System

Context Management

Generation System

​When to Use RAG Agents

​Benefits of RAG

Knowledge Accuracy

Reduced Hallucinations

Information Freshness

Source Attribution

Domain Specificity

Knowledge Control

​RAG Architecture

​Example Use Cases

​Implementation Steps

​Best Practices

​Common Challenges and Solutions

​Advanced RAG Techniques

​Implementation in Prisme.ai

What is Retrieval Augmented Generation?

Key Components

When to Use RAG Agents

Benefits of RAG

RAG Architecture

Example Use Cases

Implementation Steps

Best Practices

Common Challenges and Solutions

Advanced RAG Techniques

Implementation in Prisme.ai