Interactive learning lab
How AI works · guide 6 of 8

The model adaptation strategy lab

Strategy lab · BriefingScene 1 / 6

Prompting, RAG and tuning solve different problems

Start cheap and escalate only after a measured wall.

Prompting, RAG and tuning solve different problems ready.

Predict
Inspect
Verify

Prompting supplies instructions and examples at request time. RAG retrieves private or fresh knowledge. Fine-tuning changes persistent behaviour or style. Most production systems combine a strong prompt with retrieval before considering training.

Instruction gap → prompt.
Knowledge gap → retrieval.
Persistent behaviour gap at scale → evaluate tuning.