Free text-first course
Introduction to RAG and Knowledge Assistants
A knowledge assistant design brief with source rules, metadata, citation policy, missing-answer behavior, permissions, and an evaluation set.
What you will be able to do
A knowledge assistant design brief with source rules, metadata, citation policy, missing-answer behavior, permissions, and an evaluation set.
Use a repeatable workflow instead of disconnected tips.
Check assumptions, evidence, output quality, and limitations before using results.
Create a capstone artifact that can be inspected, improved, and reviewed.
What you need before starting
Learners who need to understand how knowledge assistants use documents, retrieval, citations, and failure rules.
AI Foundations is required. Prompting and AI Workflow Design is recommended.
Static lessons, activities, knowledge checks, learner templates, and a downloadable text-first pack.
11-module course sequence
The sequence follows the approved detailed syllabus and is implemented as a complete text-first shell.
Module 01
Why Normal Chat Is Not the Same as Knowledge Retrieval
- Learn how Why Normal Chat Is Not the Same as Knowledge Retrieval fits into RAG and knowledge-assistant design instead of treating it as an isolated topic.
- Practice by design or inspect a small retrieval workflow using the module idea, then compare the result with the module review checklist.
- Produce a RAG design note with source rules, answer behavior, checks, and risks before moving ahead in Introduction to RAG and Knowledge Assistants.
Module 02
Documents, Chunks, Metadata, and Permissions
- Learn how Documents, Chunks, Metadata, and Permissions fits into RAG and knowledge-assistant design instead of treating it as an isolated topic.
- Practice by design or inspect a small retrieval workflow using the module idea, then compare the result with the module review checklist.
- Produce a RAG design note with source rules, answer behavior, checks, and risks before moving ahead in Introduction to RAG and Knowledge Assistants.
Module 03
Embeddings, Indexes, and Retrieval in Plain English
- Learn how Embeddings, Indexes, and Retrieval in Plain English fits into RAG and knowledge-assistant design instead of treating it as an isolated topic.
- Practice by design or inspect a small retrieval workflow using the module idea, then compare the result with the module review checklist.
- Produce a RAG design note with source rules, answer behavior, checks, and risks before moving ahead in Introduction to RAG and Knowledge Assistants.
Module 04
Query Rewriting and Retrieval Quality
- Learn how Query Rewriting and Retrieval Quality fits into RAG and knowledge-assistant design instead of treating it as an isolated topic.
- Practice by design or inspect a small retrieval workflow using the module idea, then compare the result with the module review checklist.
- Produce a RAG design note with source rules, answer behavior, checks, and risks before moving ahead in Introduction to RAG and Knowledge Assistants.
Module 05
Grounded Answering with Citations
- Learn how Grounded Answering with Citations fits into RAG and knowledge-assistant design instead of treating it as an isolated topic.
- Practice by design or inspect a small retrieval workflow using the module idea, then compare the result with the module review checklist.
- Produce a RAG design note with source rules, answer behavior, checks, and risks before moving ahead in Introduction to RAG and Knowledge Assistants.
Module 06
Missing Answers and Refusal Behavior
- Learn how Missing Answers and Refusal Behavior fits into RAG and knowledge-assistant design instead of treating it as an isolated topic.
- Practice by design or inspect a small retrieval workflow using the module idea, then compare the result with the module review checklist.
- Produce a RAG design note with source rules, answer behavior, checks, and risks before moving ahead in Introduction to RAG and Knowledge Assistants.
Module 07
Hallucination Risks and Source Conflicts
- Learn how Hallucination Risks and Source Conflicts fits into RAG and knowledge-assistant design instead of treating it as an isolated topic.
- Practice by design or inspect a small retrieval workflow using the module idea, then compare the result with the module review checklist.
- Produce a RAG design note with source rules, answer behavior, checks, and risks before moving ahead in Introduction to RAG and Knowledge Assistants.
Module 08
Evaluation Sets for RAG
- Learn how Evaluation Sets for RAG fits into RAG and knowledge-assistant design instead of treating it as an isolated topic.
- Practice by design or inspect a small retrieval workflow using the module idea, then compare the result with the module review checklist.
- Produce a RAG design note with source rules, answer behavior, checks, and risks before moving ahead in Introduction to RAG and Knowledge Assistants.
Module 09
Privacy, Access Control, and Document Lifecycle
- Learn how Privacy, Access Control, and Document Lifecycle fits into RAG and knowledge-assistant design instead of treating it as an isolated topic.
- Practice by design or inspect a small retrieval workflow using the module idea, then compare the result with the module review checklist.
- Produce a RAG design note with source rules, answer behavior, checks, and risks before moving ahead in Introduction to RAG and Knowledge Assistants.
Module 10
Designing a Knowledge Assistant Workflow
- Learn how Designing a Knowledge Assistant Workflow fits into RAG and knowledge-assistant design instead of treating it as an isolated topic.
- Practice by design or inspect a small retrieval workflow using the module idea, then compare the result with the module review checklist.
- Produce a RAG design note with source rules, answer behavior, checks, and risks before moving ahead in Introduction to RAG and Knowledge Assistants.
Module 11
Capstone: RAG Design Brief and Evaluation Plan
- Learn how Capstone: RAG Design Brief and Evaluation Plan fits into RAG and knowledge-assistant design instead of treating it as an isolated topic.
- Practice by design or inspect a small retrieval workflow using the module idea, then compare the result with the module review checklist.
- Produce a RAG design note with source rules, answer behavior, checks, and risks before moving ahead in Introduction to RAG and Knowledge Assistants.
Course status: outline published, lessons in development
The full syllabus, module structure, activities, and download pack are published and free to use now. Detailed lesson writing is still in progress, so lesson pages currently give the shape of each topic rather than the final teaching depth. Per-module assessments, worked examples, instructional diagrams, and external specialist review are planned next.