In plain words: Instead of cutting documents into chunks and picking pieces that sound similar to a question, this system maps cause-and-effect links between statements and follows them to gather connected evidence. It answered knowledge questions more accurately and clearly than the usual lookup approach and graph-based versions.
Abstract · CausalRAG: Integrating Causal Graphs into Retrieval-Augmented Generation
Large language models (LLMs) have revolutionized natural language processing (NLP), particularly through Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), which enhances LLM capabilities by integrating external knowledge. However, traditional RAG systems face critical limitations, including disrupted contextual integrity due to text chunking, and over-reliance on semantic similarity for retrieval. To address these issues, we propose CausalRAG, a novel framework that incorporates causal graphs into the retrieval process. By constructing and tracing causal relationships, CausalRAG preserves contextual continuity and improves retrieval precision, leading to more accurate and interpretable responses. We evaluate CausalRAG against regular RAG and graph-based RAG approaches, demonstrating its superiority across several metrics. Our findings suggest that grounding retrieval in causal reasoning provides a promising approach to knowledge-intensive tasks.
Nengbo Wang, Xiaotian Han, Jagdip Singh, Jing Ma, Vipin Chaudhary
arXiv:2503.19878 · cs.CL, cs.IR · submitted Mar 25, 2025 · updated Oct 21, 2025
abstract · pdf · html · Accepted at Findings of ACL 2025