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Seven RAG Failures and How to Fix Them

Diagnose and fix common Retrieval-Augmented Generation breakdowns.

Even the best large language models can fall short if your RAG system isn’t built right. This resource walks through the most common failure points and how to fix them with better retrieval, ranking, and generation strategies.


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Don’t let hidden RAG failures derail your AI performance

Many RAG systems fail silently—retrieving the wrong documents, missing key context, or generating incomplete responses. These issues often go unnoticed until your outputs are unreliable, inconsistent, or misleading.

Build a Reliable RAG Pipeline That Won’t Break Under Pressure 

Most RAG failures start before generation even begins. Learn how to spot low-quality retrieval, ranking errors, and poor consolidation strategies before they undermine your AI’s performance.

Distinguish between retrieval and generation failures

Learn how to trace inaccurate outputs back to the correct source, whether it’s retrieval or generation, so you can apply focused fixes instead of guessing or over-engineering prompts.

Improve ranking to surface more relevant documents

Fine-tune your retrievers and rerankers to ensure the most useful context is included in the LLM’s input. Better ranking leads to more complete, accurate, and grounded answers.

Structure outputs using JSON, schemas, or tables

Guide your LLMs to return usable outputs by enforcing structured formats. This reduces downstream cleanup and increases answer consistency across use cases.

Rewrite vague queries to get more accurate results

Use query rewriting and prompt adjustments to clarify user intent before retrieval begins. Cleaner queries lead to better document matches and more precise responses.

"We minimized labeling drift and boosted overall model performance by 30%. These steps helped us avoid a regulatory setback that could’ve delayed our entire pilot."

Director of Data Science

Global Tech & Healthcare Company

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If you’re wrestling with complex labeling challenges, compliance audits, or repeated model drift, our experts can diagnose your data pipeline and suggest a tailored approach.