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Glossary · AI & Agents

LlamaIndex

Definition: LlamaIndex is an open-source data framework for connecting large language models to your own data, handling the ingestion, chunking, indexing, and retrieval that power retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), semantic search, and question-answering over private documents.

Official source: LlamaIndex

Overview

What LlamaIndex does

LlamaIndex focuses on the data side of AI applications. It provides connectors and loaders to ingest content from PDFs, documents, websites, and databases, then splits it into chunks, turns those chunks into embeddings, and builds indexes for fast retrieval. Query engines and retrievers pull the most relevant pieces at question time, integrating with vector stores like Pinecone and pgvector and models like OpenAI.

LlamaIndex vs LangChain

LlamaIndex specializes in indexing and retrieving your data for retrieval-augmented generation, while LangChain is a broader framework for orchestrating chains, tools, and agents. They are complementary rather than competing: many teams use LlamaIndex for the retrieval layer inside a larger LangChain application, and add LangSmith for monitoring.

How it fits business projects

LlamaIndex is a natural fit for internal knowledge assistants that answer questions from a company's own documents. Our team uses it in RAG Development, Knowledge Assistant (RAG), AI Chatbots, and Customer Service AI projects, connecting private content to a model so staff and customers get accurate, sourced answers instead of generic responses.

FAQ

LlamaIndex — common questions

What is LlamaIndex used for?

LlamaIndex is used to connect large language models to your own data for RAG and question-answering. It handles loading, chunking, embedding, indexing, and retrieving documents, making it well suited to knowledge assistants and internal search over private content.

LlamaIndex vs LangChain, which is better for RAG?

LlamaIndex is purpose-built for the data ingestion and retrieval at the heart of RAG, so it often provides a more direct path for document-heavy use cases. LangChain offers broader orchestration, and the two are frequently combined.

Is LlamaIndex free?

Yes, LlamaIndex is open-source and free to use. The company also offers LlamaCloud, a paid managed service for parsing, indexing, and hosting at scale, with its own pricing tiers.

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