{
  "altLabels": [
    "RAG"
  ],
  "definition": "A generation pattern in which retrieved external information is supplied to a generative model to support, condition, or ground its output.",
  "derivedRelations": [
    {
      "note": "Chunking is one design choice inside many RAG systems; RAG is the broader retrieval-augmented generation pattern.",
      "target": "chunking",
      "type": "notEquivalentTo"
    },
    {
      "note": "Conversational search is a multi-turn search interaction pattern; RAG is a generation pattern using retrieved information.",
      "target": "conversational-search",
      "type": "notEquivalentTo"
    },
    {
      "note": "RAG is a retrieval-augmented generation pattern; deep research emphasizes multi-step search, browsing, evidence gathering, and cited synthesis.",
      "target": "deep-research",
      "type": "notEquivalentTo"
    },
    {
      "note": "Multimodal retrieval may be used inside multimodal RAG systems, but RAG is a retrieval-augmented generation pattern.",
      "target": "multimodal-retrieval",
      "type": "notEquivalentTo"
    },
    {
      "note": "Passage retrieval is often used inside RAG systems, but RAG is the broader retrieval-augmented generation pattern.",
      "target": "passage-retrieval",
      "type": "notEquivalentTo"
    },
    {
      "note": "Question answering is a task; RAG is a retrieval-augmented generation pattern that can be used for question answering and other tasks.",
      "target": "question-answering",
      "type": "notEquivalentTo"
    },
    {
      "target": "conversational-search",
      "type": "related"
    },
    {
      "target": "deep-research",
      "type": "related"
    },
    {
      "target": "multi-hop-retrieval",
      "type": "related"
    },
    {
      "target": "multimodal-retrieval",
      "type": "related"
    },
    {
      "target": "query-routing",
      "type": "related"
    },
    {
      "target": "question-answering",
      "type": "related"
    },
    {
      "target": "retrieval-planning",
      "type": "related"
    }
  ],
  "distinctions": [
    {
      "reason": "RAG is the broader retrieval-augmented generation pattern; Agentic RAG specifically adds agentic control over retrieval or tool-use steps.",
      "statement": "Retrieval-Augmented Generation is not Agentic RAG.",
      "target": "agentic-rag",
      "targetLabel": "Agentic RAG",
      "targetUri": "https://id.searchplex.net/agentic-rag/"
    },
    {
      "reason": "RAG is a generation pattern using retrieved information; agentic retrieval is an agent-controlled retrieval pattern that may be used within RAG systems.",
      "statement": "Retrieval-Augmented Generation is not Agentic Retrieval.",
      "target": "agentic-retrieval",
      "targetLabel": "Agentic Retrieval",
      "targetUri": "https://id.searchplex.net/agentic-retrieval/"
    },
    {
      "reason": "Dense retrieval is one possible retrieval component in RAG; RAG is the broader system pattern.",
      "statement": "Retrieval-Augmented Generation is not Dense Retrieval.",
      "target": "dense-retrieval",
      "targetLabel": "Dense Retrieval",
      "targetUri": "https://id.searchplex.net/dense-retrieval/"
    },
    {
      "reason": "RAG is one way to provide external context for grounding; grounding is the broader goal or practice of anchoring output in source material.",
      "statement": "Retrieval-Augmented Generation is not Grounding.",
      "target": "grounding",
      "targetLabel": "Grounding",
      "targetUri": "https://id.searchplex.net/grounding/"
    },
    {
      "reason": "Retrieval is the selection of relevant items; RAG is a generation pattern that uses retrieved information as input to a generative model.",
      "statement": "Retrieval-Augmented Generation is not Retrieval.",
      "target": "retrieval",
      "targetLabel": "Retrieval",
      "targetUri": "https://id.searchplex.net/retrieval/"
    },
    {
      "reason": "Semantic search is meaning-oriented retrieval; RAG is a retrieval-augmented generation pattern that may use semantic search.",
      "statement": "Retrieval-Augmented Generation is not Semantic Search.",
      "target": "semantic-search",
      "targetLabel": "Semantic Search",
      "targetUri": "https://id.searchplex.net/semantic-search/"
    }
  ],
  "id": "rag",
  "kind": "GeneralConcept",
  "license": "https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/",
  "links": [
    {
      "label": "Retrieval-Augmented Generation for Knowledge-Intensive NLP Tasks",
      "type": "definingReference",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2005.11401"
    }
  ],
  "modifiedAt": "2026-09-14T06:43:46Z",
  "prefLabel": "Retrieval-Augmented Generation",
  "publisher": {
    "name": "Searchplex",
    "url": "https://searchplex.net/"
  },
  "relations": [
    {
      "note": "RAG is the broader retrieval-augmented generation pattern; Agentic RAG specifically adds agentic control over retrieval or tool-use steps.",
      "target": "agentic-rag",
      "type": "notEquivalentTo"
    },
    {
      "note": "RAG is a generation pattern using retrieved information; agentic retrieval is an agent-controlled retrieval pattern that may be used within RAG systems.",
      "target": "agentic-retrieval",
      "type": "notEquivalentTo"
    },
    {
      "note": "Dense retrieval is one possible retrieval component in RAG; RAG is the broader system pattern.",
      "target": "dense-retrieval",
      "type": "notEquivalentTo"
    },
    {
      "note": "RAG is one way to provide external context for grounding; grounding is the broader goal or practice of anchoring output in source material.",
      "target": "grounding",
      "type": "notEquivalentTo"
    },
    {
      "note": "Retrieval is the selection of relevant items; RAG is a generation pattern that uses retrieved information as input to a generative model.",
      "target": "retrieval",
      "type": "notEquivalentTo"
    },
    {
      "note": "Semantic search is meaning-oriented retrieval; RAG is a retrieval-augmented generation pattern that may use semantic search.",
      "target": "semantic-search",
      "type": "notEquivalentTo"
    },
    {
      "target": "agentic-rag",
      "type": "related"
    },
    {
      "target": "agentic-retrieval",
      "type": "related"
    },
    {
      "target": "chunking",
      "type": "related"
    },
    {
      "target": "dense-retrieval",
      "type": "related"
    },
    {
      "target": "grounding",
      "type": "related"
    },
    {
      "target": "hybrid-retrieval",
      "type": "related"
    },
    {
      "target": "passage-retrieval",
      "type": "related"
    },
    {
      "target": "retrieval",
      "type": "related"
    },
    {
      "target": "semantic-search",
      "type": "related"
    }
  ],
  "representations": {
    "html": "https://id.searchplex.net/rag/",
    "json": "https://id.searchplex.net/rag.json",
    "jsonld": "https://id.searchplex.net/rag.jsonld"
  },
  "scheme": "https://id.searchplex.net/scheme/",
  "scopeNote": "RAG systems commonly combine indexing, retrieval, reranking, prompt or context construction, and generation. RAG uses retrieval, but it is not identical to retrieval, dense retrieval, semantic search, or grounding.",
  "status": "published",
  "uri": "https://id.searchplex.net/rag/"
}