Building a RAG assistant without a separate vector database
A RAG assistant does not always need a separate . An existing analytical database layer may be worth testing first before adding another system to run. Keeping the system simpler can make it easier to understand, operate, and debug.
The hard part was still , not the database choice itself. Document splitting, ranking, , and had a large effect on whether the assistant found useful information. and worked well in cases where exact terms, product names, or internal wording mattered.
The right RAG design depends on the real retrieval problem, not on copying a default tool stack.
Key points
- A RAG assistant was tested without adding a separate .
- Simpler made the system easier to understand and manage.
- depended heavily on document splitting, ranking, , and .
- and helped when exact names and internal terms mattered.
- RAG should match the retrieval problem instead of following a default stack.