{
  "definition": "Choosing a sequence or strategy of retrieval actions for satisfying an information need, often before or during an agentic retrieval loop.",
  "derivedRelations": [
    {
      "note": "Retrieval planning is one capability within an agentic RAG system; it is not the full RAG pattern.",
      "target": "agentic-rag",
      "type": "notEquivalentTo"
    },
    {
      "target": "agentic-rag",
      "type": "related"
    },
    {
      "target": "browsecomp-plus",
      "type": "related"
    },
    {
      "target": "deep-research",
      "type": "related"
    },
    {
      "target": "iterative-retrieval",
      "type": "related"
    },
    {
      "target": "web-browsing-agent",
      "type": "related"
    }
  ],
  "distinctions": [
    {
      "reason": "Retrieval planning is one capability within agentic retrieval; agentic retrieval is the broader agent-controlled retrieval pattern.",
      "statement": "Retrieval Planning is not Agentic Retrieval.",
      "target": "agentic-retrieval",
      "targetLabel": "Agentic Retrieval",
      "targetUri": "https://id.searchplex.net/agentic-retrieval/"
    },
    {
      "reason": "Retrieval planning may use query decomposition, but decomposition specifically breaks an information need into subqueries or subproblems.",
      "statement": "Retrieval Planning is not Query Decomposition.",
      "target": "query-decomposition",
      "targetLabel": "Query Decomposition",
      "targetUri": "https://id.searchplex.net/query-decomposition/"
    },
    {
      "reason": "Retrieval planning chooses an overall retrieval strategy or sequence; query routing chooses a handling path, source, retriever, tool, or model for a query.",
      "statement": "Retrieval Planning is not Query Routing.",
      "target": "query-routing",
      "targetLabel": "Query Routing",
      "targetUri": "https://id.searchplex.net/query-routing/"
    }
  ],
  "id": "retrieval-planning",
  "kind": "Task",
  "license": "https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/",
  "links": [
    {
      "label": "Agentic Retrieval-Augmented Generation",
      "type": "canonicalSurvey",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.09136"
    }
  ],
  "modifiedAt": "2026-09-14T06:43:46Z",
  "prefLabel": "Retrieval Planning",
  "publisher": {
    "name": "Searchplex",
    "url": "https://searchplex.net/"
  },
  "relations": [
    {
      "note": "Retrieval planning is one capability within agentic retrieval; agentic retrieval is the broader agent-controlled retrieval pattern.",
      "target": "agentic-retrieval",
      "type": "notEquivalentTo"
    },
    {
      "note": "Retrieval planning may use query decomposition, but decomposition specifically breaks an information need into subqueries or subproblems.",
      "target": "query-decomposition",
      "type": "notEquivalentTo"
    },
    {
      "note": "Retrieval planning chooses an overall retrieval strategy or sequence; query routing chooses a handling path, source, retriever, tool, or model for a query.",
      "target": "query-routing",
      "type": "notEquivalentTo"
    },
    {
      "target": "agentic-retrieval",
      "type": "partOf"
    },
    {
      "target": "multi-hop-retrieval",
      "type": "related"
    },
    {
      "target": "query-decomposition",
      "type": "related"
    },
    {
      "target": "query-routing",
      "type": "related"
    },
    {
      "target": "rag",
      "type": "related"
    }
  ],
  "representations": {
    "html": "https://id.searchplex.net/retrieval-planning/",
    "json": "https://id.searchplex.net/retrieval-planning.json",
    "jsonld": "https://id.searchplex.net/retrieval-planning.jsonld"
  },
  "scheme": "https://id.searchplex.net/scheme/",
  "scopeNote": "Retrieval planning may include deciding whether retrieval is needed, decomposing an information need, choosing tools or indexes, ordering retrieval steps, and deciding when to stop. It is distinct from query routing, which chooses where or how a query should be handled, and from query decomposition, which breaks an information need into subqueries.",
  "status": "published",
  "terms": [
    {
      "community": "industry",
      "label": "Search Planning",
      "usage": "nearSynonym"
    },
    {
      "community": "industry",
      "label": "Retrieval Strategy Planning",
      "usage": "nearSynonym"
    }
  ],
  "uri": "https://id.searchplex.net/retrieval-planning/"
}