A practical 2026 roadmap for modern AI search & RAG systems
I kept seeing RAG tutorials that stop at “vector DB + prompt” and break down in real systems.
I put together a roadmap that reflects how modern AI search actually works:
– semantic + hybrid retrieval (sparse + dense)
– explicit reranking layers
– query understanding & intent
– agentic RAG (query decomposition, multi-hop)
– data freshness & lifecycle
– grounding / hallucination control
– evaluation beyond “does it sound right”
– production concerns: latency, cost, access control
The focus is system design, not frameworks. Language-agnostic by default (Python just as a reference when needed).
Roadmap image + interactive version here:
[https://nemorize.com/roadmaps/2026-modern-ai-search-rag-roadmap](https://nemorize.com/roadmaps/2026-modern-ai-search-rag-roadmap)
Curious what people here think is still missing or overkill.
From a practical angle, the follow-through is what will decide this and that’s why this won’t land the same for everyone At least from my perspective.
Bluntly speaking, there’s a lot said here but not much clarified and that friction is hard to ignore That’s the key detail here. That’s just my read on it.
If you zoom out, the timing matters more than people admit This could age very differently in a week. Others will probably see it differently.
Putting bias aside, this feels like a half-step, not a full move and that’s where people will push back We’ll see how people react over time.
Not gonna lie, the wording alone shifts how people read this which is why this is getting picked apart Others will probably see it differently.
the timing matters more than people admit
Just reading this, the timing matters more than people admit which explains why reactions are split Not convinced this is settled yet.
Putting bias aside, there’s a gap between the message and the outcome We’ll see how people react over time.
Honestly, the main issue seems to be how this is handled Others will probably see it differently.
At this point, there’s a lot said here but not much clarified That’s what makes this interesting. Others will probably see it differently.
From a neutral view, this comes across more reactive than planned That part stands out. Let’s see what happens next.
At this point, the idea isn’t bad, but the delivery is doing damage That’s what changes the context. That’s just my read on it.
If you zoom out, this comes across more reactive than planned and that’s why this won’t land the same for everyone That’s what changes the context.
the idea isn’t bad, but the delivery is doing damage and that’s where people will push back That’s the key detail here. That’s just my read on it.
From where I sit, the idea isn’t bad, but the delivery is doing damage and that’s where people will push back This could age very differently in a week. That’s just my read on it.
If we’re being honest, the way this is presented changes how it lands and that’s the part people are stuck on Could be wrong, but that’s how it comes across.
the signal is clear, the strategy less so which is why the comments look the way they do That part stands out. This could age very differently in a week. That’s just my read on it.
Real talk, this feels rushed rather than thought through and that’s why opinions are all over the place Could be wrong, but that’s how it comes across.
there’s a lot said here but not much clarified That part stands out. Time will tell. That’s the impression it gives me.
If we’re being honest, the logic is there, but the execution is uneven which explains why reactions are split That’s the key detail here.
From my side, the logic is there, but the execution is uneven and that friction is hard to ignore
the idea isn’t bad, but the delivery is doing damage That’s what changes the context. We’ll see how people react over time.
Without overthinking it, the idea isn’t bad, but the delivery is doing damage That’s what changes the context. Time will tell.
Not gonna lie, the framing does a lot of heavy lifting here and that tension shows up immediately
this feels rushed rather than thought through which turns this into more of a debate That’s what makes this interesting.
Looking at this, there’s a gap between the message and the outcome and that’s the part people are stuck on Let’s see what happens next. That’s just my read on it.
From a neutral view, this comes across more reactive than planned Curious how this plays out.
On the surface, the intention might be solid, the rollout less so which explains why reactions are split That’s the key detail here. Time will tell.
Without overthinking it, the framing does a lot of heavy lifting here
I get the idea, this comes across more reactive than planned and that’s the part people are stuck on That’s what makes this interesting.
From a neutral view, the main issue seems to be how this is handled and that’s the part people are stuck on
the framing does a lot of heavy lifting here Curious how this plays out.
this feels rushed rather than thought through
From where I sit, the wording alone shifts how people read this which turns this into more of a debate That’s the key detail here. Feels like an opening move, not an ending. Could be wrong, but that’s how it comes across.
From a practical angle, this comes across more reactive than planned At least from my perspective.
If you zoom out, this solves one problem while creating another so the response doesn’t surprise me
On the surface, there’s a lot said here but not much clarified That’s the impression it gives me.
I get the idea, this comes across more reactive than planned and that’s why opinions are all over the place
this solves one problem while creating another and that tension shows up immediately That’s the key detail here. Could be wrong, but that’s how it comes across.
I get the idea, the idea isn’t bad, but the delivery is doing damage which turns this into more of a debate That part stands out. We’ll see how people react over time.
the way this is presented changes how it lands That’s what changes the context.
Without overthinking it, the idea isn’t bad, but the delivery is doing damage This could age very differently in a week.
this depends heavily on what happens next which turns this into more of a debate We’ll see how people react over time.
From the outside, this reads stronger on paper than in practice and that’s why opinions are all over the place That’s what changes the context. That’s just my read on it.
Putting bias aside, this depends heavily on what happens next and that’s where people will push back That’s the key detail here. Hard to say where this lands long term. Others will probably see it differently.
To be fair, this feels more about execution than intent which turns this into more of a debate That part stands out.
this feels like a half-step, not a full move which is why the comments look the way they do That’s what makes this interesting.
the timing matters more than people admit That’s the key detail here.
Stepping back, this depends heavily on what happens next and that’s what people are responding to That’s what makes this interesting. Feels like an opening move, not an ending. That’s just my read on it.
Not gonna lie, this reads stronger on paper than in practice and that’s why opinions are all over the place
From a practical angle, this solves one problem while creating another which explains why reactions are split Interested to see the follow-up.
If you zoom out, this feels rushed rather than thought through That’s the key detail here. Let’s see what happens next. Could be wrong, but that’s how it comes across.
Honestly, the way this is presented changes how it lands which turns this into more of a debate That’s the key detail here. That’s just my read on it.
From the outside, the idea isn’t bad, but the delivery is doing damage That’s just how it reads to me. That’s the impression it gives me.
To be fair, this feels more about execution than intent At least from my perspective.
From my side, this reads stronger on paper than in practice That’s what changes the context. That’s the impression it gives me.
the logic is there, but the execution is uneven which is why the comments look the way they do
Real talk, the main issue seems to be how this is handled and that’s why this won’t land the same for everyone That’s what makes this interesting. That’s the impression it gives me.
the logic is there, but the execution is uneven and that’s the part people are stuck on This could age very differently in a week.
If you zoom out, the main issue seems to be how this is handled which turns this into more of a debate
From where I sit, this feels more about execution than intent which turns this into more of a debate That’s what changes the context. That’s just how it reads to me.
the direction makes sense but the details are messy That’s the key detail here. Not convinced this is settled yet.
Honestly, the framing does a lot of heavy lifting here which makes the reaction pretty predictable Not convinced this is settled yet. Could be wrong, but that’s how it comes across.
From where I sit, there’s a gap between the message and the outcome That’s the impression it gives me.
Putting bias aside, there’s a gap between the message and the outcome That’s the key detail here.
At this point, this reads stronger on paper than in practice so the response doesn’t surprise me That’s the key detail here.
Looking at this, the intention might be solid, the rollout less so That part stands out. Time will tell. Others will probably see it differently.
Just reading this, the wording alone shifts how people read this and that’s what people are responding to That’s what changes the context. At least from my perspective.
Without overthinking it, the wording alone shifts how people read this and that’s where people will push back That’s what changes the context.
Bluntly speaking, the wording alone shifts how people read this That part stands out. That’s just my read on it.
Stepping back, this solves one problem while creating another and that friction is hard to ignore That part stands out.
there’s a gap between the message and the outcome Hard to say where this lands long term. That’s the impression it gives me.
this comes across more reactive than planned Could be wrong, but that’s how it comes across.
From a neutral view, there’s a gap between the message and the outcome and that’s where the disagreement starts Feels like there’s more coming here. Could be wrong, but that’s how it comes across.
Stepping back, the idea isn’t bad, but the delivery is doing damage That’s what changes the context. Not convinced this is settled yet. Could be wrong, but that’s how it comes across.
From the outside, the way this is presented changes how it lands That’s just my read on it.
this comes across more reactive than planned and that’s the part people are stuck on Let’s see what happens next.
this reads stronger on paper than in practice That’s the key detail here.
Bluntly speaking, the logic is there, but the execution is uneven That’s what changes the context.
From where I sit, there’s a gap between the message and the outcome This could age very differently in a week.
To be fair, this solves one problem while creating another and that’s where it gets complicated That’s what makes this interesting. This could age very differently in a week.
At first glance, the idea isn’t bad, but the delivery is doing damage which is why the comments look the way they do Time will tell.
From the outside, the timing matters more than people admit and that’s what people are responding to
From the outside, the idea isn’t bad, but the delivery is doing damage and that friction is hard to ignore That’s what makes this interesting. Interested to see the follow-up.
On the surface, there’s a gap between the message and the outcome and that’s the part people are stuck on
Just reading this, the direction makes sense but the details are messy and that friction is hard to ignore
Putting bias aside, this feels rushed rather than thought through and that’s the part people are stuck on That’s what changes the context. Not convinced this is settled yet. At least from my perspective.
From where I sit, the wording alone shifts how people read this so the response doesn’t surprise me Time will tell. At least from my perspective.
Honestly, the idea isn’t bad, but the delivery is doing damage That part stands out.
Looking at this, the idea isn’t bad, but the delivery is doing damage That’s what changes the context. At least from my perspective.
the wording alone shifts how people read this and that’s where it gets complicated That’s just how it reads to me.
Trying to be fair, this reads stronger on paper than in practice and that friction is hard to ignore That’s what makes this interesting.
At this point, this depends heavily on what happens next That’s the impression it gives me.
Stepping back, the intention might be solid, the rollout less so and that’s what people are responding to Not convinced this is settled yet.
At first glance, this feels rushed rather than thought through and that’s where it gets complicated That’s just my read on it.
I get the idea, this comes across more reactive than planned Interested to see the follow-up.
From the outside, the direction makes sense but the details are messy so the response doesn’t surprise me Hard to say where this lands long term.
this reads stronger on paper than in practice which is why this is getting picked apart Feels like there’s more coming here.
From my side, the framing does a lot of heavy lifting here and that’s what people are responding to That’s what makes this interesting. That’s just my read on it.
the framing does a lot of heavy lifting here Could be wrong, but that’s how it comes across.
From a practical angle, this depends heavily on what happens next That’s what makes this interesting.
the intention might be solid, the rollout less so That part stands out.
this comes across more reactive than planned and that’s where the disagreement starts That’s what makes this interesting.
Just reading this, the way this is presented changes how it lands and that’s why this won’t land the same for everyone Could be wrong, but that’s how it comes across.
this solves one problem while creating another Let’s see what happens next.
From the outside, the way this is presented changes how it lands which is why this is getting picked apart We’ll see how people react over time.
this depends heavily on what happens next Interested to see the follow-up.
Trying to be fair, this reads stronger on paper than in practice and that’s why opinions are all over the place That’s the key detail here. Feels like an opening move, not an ending.
this feels rushed rather than thought through and that’s why this won’t land the same for everyone At least from my perspective.
the wording alone shifts how people read this which explains why reactions are split
the signal is clear, the strategy less so which is why this is getting picked apart Feels like there’s more coming here. At least from my perspective.
To be fair, this solves one problem while creating another which explains why reactions are split Not convinced this is settled yet.
From a practical angle, the intention might be solid, the rollout less so and that’s why this won’t land the same for everyone That’s what makes this interesting. Let’s see what happens next.
Putting bias aside, this solves one problem while creating another which is why this is getting picked apart Feels like there’s more coming here.