Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) Interview Q&A
1. How to increase accuracy, reliability & make answers verifiable in LLM?
In my experience building production LLM systems, I've implemented several strategies:
- For Accuracy: I use RAG to ground responses in factual documents and cross-reference multiple
sources.
- For Reliability: I include confidence scoring and structured outputs separating facts from
inferences.
- For Verifiability: I include citations with page numbers and direct quotes, plus source links.
Combining these dramatically improves accuracy and trust.
2. How does RAG work?
RAG combines retrieval systems with generative models:
1) Process query and expand if needed.
2) Retrieve relevant documents with vector search (e.g., OpenAI embeddings).
3) Assemble top-k retrieved docs into prompt context.
4) LLM generates final answer using query and retrieved context.
5) Include source citations.
I use vector DBs like Pinecone/Chroma for retrieval.
3. What are some benefits of using the RAG system?
- Up-to-date information without retraining.
- Domain specificity by curating relevant documents.
- Reduces hallucination by grounding in real data.
- Transparency and trust with source citations.
- Cost-effective and scalable by updating docs without retraining.
4. When should I use Fine-tuning instead of RAG?
- Use fine-tuning for behavioral or style changes.
- Use for task-specific optimization (e.g., code generation).
- When retrieval isn't feasible or context windows are limited.
- Often combine fine-tuning for better instruction-following with RAG for factual updates.
5. What are the architecture patterns for customizing LLM with proprietary data?
- RAG: vector DB + embedding service + retrieval + LLM.
- Fine-tuning: data prep, training infra, deployment.
- Hybrid: fine-tuned LLM + RAG grounding.
- Agent-based: specialized retrieval, reasoning, verification agents.
- API Gateway: authentication, routing, caching.
- Multi-modal RAG: handling text, images, structured data.
