This guide summarizes the essential concepts of COT (Chain of Thought) and RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) for building more natural, accurate, and production-ready conversational agents.
20. What is a COT (Chain of Thought)?
The COT is the main set of instructions that defines how the agent should behave. It's not simply a script, but a reasoning guide that controls the agent's personality, tone, conversational flow, error handling, silences, tools, and critical system rules.
What does the COT control?
- Agent personality.
- Tone and conversational style.
- Call flow.
- Interruption handling.
- Security rules.
- Tool usage.
- Silence and IVR handling.
- Anti-hallucination rules.
Why is the COT important?
Without a solid COT, the model may respond inconsistently, improvise information, sound robotic, or break the conversation flow. The COT provides structure and consistency to the agent's behavior.
Best practices for COTs
- Write clear and direct instructions.
- Use English for the main instructions.
- Keep the prompt compact and organized.
- Include explicit examples.
- Define hard policies.
- Specify when to use tools.
21. What is a RAG?
A RAG allows the model to dynamically query external information. Instead of placing all business information within the prompt, the system retrieves only the data relevant to the response.
What information goes in a RAG?
- FAQs.
- Policies.
- Opening Hours.
- Catalogs.
- Prices.
- Reservation Information.
- Technical Documentation.
- Branch Information.
Why is RAG important?
RAG reduces confusion and allows you to keep information up-to-date without constantly modifying the COT. It also improves scalability and makes it easier to separate behavior from knowledge.
Best practices for RAG
- One topic per block.
- Clear titles.
- Natural language.
- Avoid duplicate information.
- Keep data up-to-date.
- Split large amounts of information into multiple files.
22. Why is JSON used?
JSON is the most widely used standard format for exchanging information between APIs, tools, models, and backend systems. It allows structured data to be represented clearly and is compatible with virtually any language.
Where is JSON used?
- Tool calling.
- APIs.
- Internal states.
- Metadata.
- Logs.
- Agent Configuration.
- Function Results.
Advantages of JSON
- Easy for humans to read.
- Easy for machines to process.
- Reduces ambiguity.
- Facilitates integrations.
- Organizes complex information.
Recommended architecture
COT = Behavior and Reasoning.
RAG = External Knowledge.
JSON = Structured Data Exchange.
The combination of these components allows for the construction of more robust, natural, and scalable agents.
Recommended language: The main system and COT instructions should be written in English, as models generally interpret rules and constraints better in this language. Conversational examples can be written in Spanish to achieve more natural and realistic responses.