The RAG Problem

📰 Medium · RAG

Learn about the RAG problem and why it's harder to solve than it looks, with a focus on intent and edge cases

intermediate Published 20 Apr 2026
Action Steps
  1. Read the article to understand the RAG problem and its challenges
  2. Analyze the example given in the article to see how intent affects RAG
  3. Research different methodologies for solving the RAG problem and their limitations
  4. Experiment with different approaches to intent detection and retrieval
  5. Evaluate the performance of different RAG models on edge cases and intent-based queries
Who Needs to Know This

AI engineers and researchers working on RAG and intent detection will benefit from understanding the challenges and complexities of the RAG problem

Key Insight

💡 Intent is the hard problem in RAG, not retrieval

Share This
🤖 The RAG problem is harder than it looks! Intent is key, but edge cases can trip you up. 💡

Key Takeaways

Learn about the RAG problem and why it's harder to solve than it looks, with a focus on intent and edge cases

Full Article

Title: The RAG Problem

URL Source: https://pub.towardsai.net/the-rag-problem-8e63e6a37c6c?source=rss------rag-5

Published Time: 2026-04-20T20:01:01Z

Markdown Content:
# The RAG Problem. Why RAG looks Easy, but is really much… | by Alex Punnen | Apr, 2026 | Towards AI

[Sitemap](https://pub.towardsai.net/sitemap/sitemap.xml)

[Open in app](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.medium.reader&referrer=utm_source%3DmobileNavBar&source=post_page---top_nav_layout_nav-----------------------------------------)

Sign up

[Sign in](https://medium.com/m/signin?operation=login&redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fpub.towardsai.net%2Fthe-rag-problem-8e63e6a37c6c&source=post_page---top_nav_layout_nav-----------------------global_nav------------------)

[](https://medium.com/?source=post_page---top_nav_layout_nav-----------------------------------------)

Get app

[Write](https://medium.com/m/signin?operation=register&redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fmedium.com%2Fnew-story&source=---top_nav_layout_nav-----------------------new_post_topnav------------------)

[Search](https://medium.com/search?source=post_page---top_nav_layout_nav-----------------------------------------)

Sign up

[Sign in](https://medium.com/m/signin?operation=login&redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fpub.towardsai.net%2Fthe-rag-problem-8e63e6a37c6c&source=post_page---top_nav_layout_nav-----------------------global_nav------------------)

![Image 1](https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fill:64:64/1*dmbNkD5D-u45r44go_cf0g.png)

## [Towards AI](https://pub.towardsai.net/?source=post_page---publication_nav-98111c9905da-8e63e6a37c6c---------------------------------------)

·
Follow publication

[![Image 2: Towards AI](https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fill:76:76/1*JyIThO-cLjlChQLb6kSlVQ.png)](https://pub.towardsai.net/?source=post_page---post_publication_sidebar-98111c9905da-8e63e6a37c6c---------------------------------------)
We build Enterprise AI. We teach what we learn. Join 100K+ AI practitioners on Towards AI Academy. Free: 6-day Agentic AI Engineering Email Guide: [https://email-course.towardsai.net/](https://email-course.towardsai.net/)

Follow publication

Member-only story

# The RAG Problem

## Why RAG looks Easy, but is really much Harder

[![Image 3: Alex Punnen](https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fill:64:64/1*-LGo1-ORRb_uBZCFOQFzhQ.jpeg)](https://alexcpn.medium.com/?source=post_page---byline--8e63e6a37c6c---------------------------------------)

[Alex Punnen](https://alexcpn.medium.com/?source=post_page---byline--8e63e6a37c6c---------------------------------------)

Follow

6 min read

·

2 hours ago

[](https://medium.com/m/signin?actionUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fmedium.com%2F_%2Fvote%2Ftowards-artificial-intelligence%2F8e63e6a37c6c&operation=register&redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fpub.towardsai.net%2Fthe-rag-problem-8e63e6a37c6c&user=Alex+Punnen&userId=d90c80feab50&source=---header_actions--8e63e6a37c6c---------------------clap_footer------------------)

21

2

[](https://medium.com/m/signin?actionUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fmedium.com%2F_%2Fbookmark%2Fp%2F8e63e6a37c6c&operation=register&redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fpub.towardsai.net%2Fthe-rag-problem-8e63e6a37c6c&source=---header_actions--8e63e6a37c6c---------------------bookmark_footer------------------)

[Listen](https://medium.com/m/signin?actionUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fmedium.com%2Fplans%3Fdimension%3Dpost_audio_button%26postId%3D8e63e6a37c6c&operation=register&redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fpub.towardsai.net%2Fthe-rag-problem-8e63e6a37c6c&source=---header_actions--8e63e6a37c6c---------------------post_audio_button------------------)

Share

There are literally thousands of papers of RAG and a lot of different methodologies. But those who put it in production find that a new edge case quietly proves that it is not an easy problem to solve

> The hard problem is not retrieval. It is intent.

Let me illustrate with an example.

Press enter or click to view image in full size

![Image 4](https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:700/1*ri3r95jX759osYRIKQ4uSg.png)

RAG and the Milkshake P
Read full article → ← Back to Reads