intermediate~3h
8 RAG Architectures: A Decision Map
A taxonomy of 8 RAG architectures — Naive, Multimodal, HyDE, Corrective, Graph, Hybrid, Adaptive, and Agentic — with a decision framework for picking the right one.
8 RAG Architectures — A Decision Map
Start at Naive RAG as your baseline — move right only when you hit a documented failure mode a specific architecture solves.
| Mechanism | Best-fit use case | |
|---|---|---|
| Naive RAG | Vector similarity search only | Simple fact queries |
| Multimodal RAG | Cross-modal embedding & retrieval | Text + image/audio queries |
| HyDE | Hypothetical-document query expansion | Semantically-distant query/answer pairs |
| Corrective RAG | Retrieval validation + web fallback | Freshness / accuracy-critical queries |
| Graph RAG | Knowledge-graph traversal | Relationship / multi-entity reasoning |
| Hybrid RAG | Dense + graph retrieval combined | Mixed structured/unstructured needs |
| Adaptive RAG | Dynamic simple-vs-multistep routing | Variable query complexity |
| Agentic RAG | Agent-orchestrated multi-source retrieval | Complex, tool-using workflows |
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Exercises
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Quiz Qs
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Flashcards
▶📚 Prerequisites(1)
🎓 Learning objectives
- •Name and describe all 8 RAG architectures and the specific problem each solves
- •Distinguish Naive RAG's failure modes from what Corrective, Graph, and Adaptive RAG each fix
- •Explain when Multimodal or Hybrid RAG are needed versus text-only architectures
- •Use the 8-architecture taxonomy as a decision map for a new RAG system
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