Naive RAG: Basic Retrieve-Then-Generate
~10 min read
The baseline RAG architecture: embed the query, retrieve by vector similarity, stuff the results into the prompt, generate once. Simple, fast, and the right starting point before reaching for anything fancier.
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Key points
- •Naive RAG: embed the query, retrieve by vector similarity, generate once — no validation, no iteration, no adaptability
- •Works best for simple, fact-based queries where the question and answer are semantically close
- •Weaknesses: retrieve-once/generate-once means no recovery if context is insufficient, and irrelevant chunks get used without checking
- •Every other RAG architecture in this taxonomy is a targeted fix for one of Naive RAG's specific weaknesses
- •The right default: start with Naive RAG, and move to something fancier only once you hit a specific, documented failure it can't handle