ADK vs RAG: How to Choose the Right AI Stack

A conceptual guide comparing ADK (Agent Development Kit) and RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) for building AI systems. ADK is suited for action-oriented, multi-step reasoning tasks like workflow automation and IT assistance, while RAG excels when accuracy must come from documents like policies, manuals, or knowledge bases. Most real-world systems benefit from combining both: ADK handles task flow and decision-making while RAG grounds responses in factual document retrieval. A simple decision heuristic is offered: ask whether your AI needs to act, recall, or both.