Lesson 2: Agents for retrieval, and when not to use one
37 min read·13 Oct 2026
Module 10 · Lesson 2 · About 50 minutes · Needs: Modules 6 to 9 (hybrid search, reranking, the answer contract) and Module 7's router
The situation
On Friday 9 October 2026 Ellie Shaw asks: "Is the repair I have open now covered by the warranty?" Her words name no product. The answer needs a database fact first (her open case is an X200), then a document (the 2026 warranty terms).
Grace asks whether Hollin Answers should become an agent that decides what to look up. Owen asks what that costs. This lesson builds the agent, hollin/patterns/agent.py, with limits, and a rule for when the pipeline is better. The Hollin data is simulated.