Definition
Active RAG is an architectural pattern where the language model dynamically decides during the generation process whether it requires additional information, triggering iterative retrieval steps to fill knowledge gaps. This paradigm shifts retrieval from a static pre-processing step to a conditional, agentic loop that optimizes for accuracy and reduced hallucinations.
Unlike 'Passive RAG' which retrieves once at the start, Active RAG retrieves context continuously or conditionally during inference.
"An investigative journalist who stops writing mid-sentence to make follow-up phone calls whenever they realize their current notes are insufficient to finish the story."
- FLARE (Forward-Looking Active REtrieval)(Specific Framework)
- Self-RAG(Component/Refinement Method)
- Agentic RAG(Architectural Category)
- Inference Latency(Primary Trade-off)
Conceptual Overview
Active RAG is an architectural pattern where the language model dynamically decides during the generation process whether it requires additional information, triggering iterative retrieval steps to fill knowledge gaps. This paradigm shifts retrieval from a static pre-processing step to a conditional, agentic loop that optimizes for accuracy and reduced hallucinations.
Disambiguation
Unlike 'Passive RAG' which retrieves once at the start, Active RAG retrieves context continuously or conditionally during inference.
Visual Analog
An investigative journalist who stops writing mid-sentence to make follow-up phone calls whenever they realize their current notes are insufficient to finish the story.