Build a RAG-powered AI agent in Python — STEP-BY-STEP. Covers chunking, vector DBs, retrieval, reranking, and evaluation. Start FREE today.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between RAG and agentic RAG?
Standard RAG retrieves context once and passes it to the LLM. Agentic RAG treats retrieval as a tool the agent can call multiple times, reformulate queries, and combine with web search or other tools. Use standard RAG for simple Q&A; use agentic RAG when queries are multi-hop or require reasoning across multiple sources. See our [agentic RAG explainer](/blog/agentic-rag/) for more.
Which vector database is best for building a RAG agent?
For local development, ChromaDB requires zero setup and runs in-process. For production, Pinecone (fully managed) and Qdrant (self-hostable) are the most popular choices. FAISS is fast and in-memory — great for prototyping, but lacks persistence. Choose based on your scale, budget, and hosting requirements.
How do I prevent prompt injection in a RAG agent?
Malicious content in retrieved documents can hijack your agent. Defend against it with defensive prompt templates that clearly delimit retrieved content, limit agent tool permissions, and validate retrieval output before passing it to the LLM. See our [prompt injection guide](/blog/ai-agent-prompt-injection/) for details.
How do I evaluate a RAG agent for accuracy?
Use the RAGAS framework to measure faithfulness (does the answer match the context?), answer relevance (does it address the question?), and context precision (are chunks actually relevant?). A faithfulness score above 0.8 is a solid production threshold. Automated evaluation catches regressions before they reach users.
Should I use RAG or fine-tune my LLM?
RAG is better when your knowledge base changes frequently, you need citations, or you want to update knowledge without retraining. Fine-tuning is better for teaching new style or domain-specific language. Many production systems use both. See our [RAG vs. fine-tuning comparison](/blog/rag-vs-fine-tuning/) for a full breakdown.