Abstract
Evaluation budgets in agentic retrieval-augmented generation span questions, search trajectories, and repeated answers. We measure allocation precision, reading efficiency, and cost boundaries using a retrieval-feedback comparison on HotpotQA and MuSiQue. At 34.14--34.39M model tokens, broader question coverage lowers standard error by 33\% versus five reads and 12.6\% versus three trajectories. Archived nested and Q-only forecasts predict these allocations within 4.0\% and 3.5\%, respectively. Depth subsets establish no clear forecasting advantage beyond the two-trajectory audit. One-read variance penalties relative to the fitted optimum at the same token budget are 0--9.9\%, with substantial Pro uncertainty. Under recorded model fees, more questions beat more trajectories at search prices of \$0--1 per 1,000 requests; question-versus-read fee rankings remain unresolved. Temperature zero cuts answer disagreement from 14.3\% to 3.4\% while comparison precision stays similar. \par\medskip\noindent\textbf{Keywords:} Agentic RAG; Evaluation budget; Generalizability theory; Repeated sampling.
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- Open access
- Green open access
Cite this article
APA 7
Ning, J., Li, X., & Kong, Y. (2026). Agentic RAG Evaluation: Budget Allocation Across Questions, Trajectories, and Reads. https://omanscience.com/en/articles/agentic-rag-evaluation-budget-allocation-across-questions-trajectories-and-reads
MLA 9
Ning, Jingjie, et al. "Agentic RAG Evaluation: Budget Allocation Across Questions, Trajectories, and Reads." https://omanscience.com/en/articles/agentic-rag-evaluation-budget-allocation-across-questions-trajectories-and-reads.
Chicago (author–date)
Ning, Jingjie, Xueqi Li, and Yibo Kong. 2026. "Agentic RAG Evaluation: Budget Allocation Across Questions, Trajectories, and Reads." https://omanscience.com/en/articles/agentic-rag-evaluation-budget-allocation-across-questions-trajectories-and-reads.
Harvard
Ning, J., Li, X. and Kong, Y. (2026) 'Agentic RAG Evaluation: Budget Allocation Across Questions, Trajectories, and Reads', Available at: https://omanscience.com/en/articles/agentic-rag-evaluation-budget-allocation-across-questions-trajectories-and-reads.
Vancouver
Ning J, Li X, Kong Y. Agentic RAG Evaluation: Budget Allocation Across Questions, Trajectories, and Reads. https://omanscience.com/en/articles/agentic-rag-evaluation-budget-allocation-across-questions-trajectories-and-reads
IEEE
J. Ning, X. Li, and Y. Kong, "Agentic RAG Evaluation: Budget Allocation Across Questions, Trajectories, and Reads," https://omanscience.com/en/articles/agentic-rag-evaluation-budget-allocation-across-questions-trajectories-and-reads.