by Amit Shekhar · 1 May 2026
Agentic RAG
Agentic RAG - what it is, why standard RAG falls short, the agentic RAG loop, the three building blocks, the common patterns, when to use it, and the limitations to keep in mind.
Read on Outcome School ↗then come back to lock it in
Before you read, guessHow does an AI Agent function within the Agentic RAG process?
Ten seconds, a guess, then read — a wrong guess still makes the answer stick.
What this article covers
- The Big Picture
- A Quick Recap of RAG
- A Quick Recap of AI Agent
- Why Standard RAG Falls Short
- What is Agentic RAG
- The Agentic RAG Loop
- The Three Building Blocks
- A Walkthrough with a Real Example
- Common Patterns of Agentic RAG
- Standard RAG vs Agentic RAG
- When to Use Agentic RAG
- Limitations of Agentic RAG
The article lives on outcomeschool.com. Read it there, then come back: the tutor in the margin has read it and will answer questions, and the questions below check what stayed.