How RAG works, and when to use it

Retrieval lab · BriefingScene 1 / 5

RAG is an evidence pipeline, not a model upgrade

Inspect ingestion, retrieval and answer generation separately.

Predict

Inspect

Verify

Documents are split, indexed and retrieved before selected chunks enter the prompt. Retrieval can fail even when the answer exists. Generation can still overstate weak evidence. Each stage therefore needs its own observable trace and evaluation.

Chunking changes retrievable units.

Hybrid search covers different query types.

Generation should cite retrieved evidence.

The RAG pipeline construction lab

RAG is an evidence pipeline, not a model upgrade