RAG vs GraphRAG vs KAG
Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG), GraphRAG, and Knowledge Augmented Generation (KAG) represent successive attempts to ground large language models in structured or semi-structured knowledge.
From a graph practitioner’s perspective, the key questions are not prompt engineering but representation, identity, semantics, and the execution model.
Classical RAG emerged as a pragmatic response to the limitations of LLMs. Instead of attempting to encode all knowledge in model parameters, the approach externalised knowledge into vector indexes. Documents were chunked, embedded, and retrieved via similarity search.
The architecture was intentionally simple: a retriever, a vector store, and a generator. It did not require graph modelling, ontology design, or explicit semantics.
GraphRAG appeared later as practitioners recognised that document chunks lack explicit structure. Real-world data contains entities, relationships, hierarchies, temporal aspects, and constraints.
GraphRAG introduced graph traversal into the retrieval step. Instead of retrieving isolated chunks, it retrieves neighbourhoods of connected entities. It is important to emphasise that GraphRAG is an umbrella term rather than a formal standard.
Implementations vary widely in how graphs are constructed, traversed, and integrated with embeddings and retrieval. This reflects a shift from similarity-based recall to structure-aware retrieval.
KAG developed in parallel as a broader architectural idea. Rather than only improving retrieval, it aims to integrate a knowledge graph as a reasoning substrate. In this view, the graph is not merely a retriever index but a semantic backbone.
In practice, KAG varies significantly in implementation, from ontology-centric systems realised over RDF triple stores to Applied Knowledge Graphs implemented using the LPG model.
From a graph engineering perspective, these approaches differ in how seriously they treat identity, relationships, inference, and graph execution engines.
Sergey Vasiliev examines the different Graph Models and their realisations, does a comparative analysis and shows the architectural trade-offs, and offers practical guidance and a conclusion.
sergeyvasiliev.substack.com/…
#RAG #GraphRAG #LLMs #GenAI
--
Connected Data London 2025 brought together leaders and innovators. Were you there?
🎥 Watch the sessions:
2025.connected-data.london/
📩 Join the community:
connected-data.london
Join community legends and new voices for all things
#KnowledgeGraph #Graph #analytics #datascience #AI #graphDB #SemTech #Ontology