What is agentic RAG, and how does it differ from standard (single-shot) RAG?

Standard RAG retrieves once and generates; agentic RAG turns retrieval into an iterative, reasoning-driven loop. The signal is the agent deciding whether, what, and when to retrieve, then re-retrieving until the evidence holds.

Updated Aug 2026 · Grounded in real Applied AI Engineer interview loops and written to a senior-engineer editorial bar.