Tutorials · Chapter C (3/4) · ~8 min
RAG — look it up, then answer
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RAG makes the AI fetch relevant notes first, then write an answer from them.
Playground
RAG: look it up, then answer
Ask with RAG on, then toggle RAG off to catch guessing.
School rulesPhones stay in bags during class.
Cookie recipeBake cookies at 180°C for 12 minutes.
Store hoursWe open 9am–8pm every day.
Recap
What you just did
You compared closed-book guessing with RAG: retrieve relevant docs, then generate an answer grounded in them.
Teach
How it works
Retrieval-Augmented Generation means:
- Retrieve — find chunks that match the question (often via embeddings)
- Augment — put those chunks into the prompt as open-book material
- Generate — write the answer using that material
When a policy changes, you update the docs — you don’t always retrain the whole model.
Use it
When you'd use this
- Company FAQ / employee handbook bots
- Personal note Q&A
- Product docs that change every sprint
Watch out
Watch out
If retrieval pulls the wrong chunk, the answer can sound right and still be wrong. Bad backpack → bad trip.
Try next
Try this next
Ask a question with RAG off (pure guess) vs on (with a short note attached). Spot where the facts come from.