{"slug": "ai-builder-essentials-tokens-context-windows-and-rag-101", "title": "AI builder essentials: tokens, context windows and RAG 101", "summary": "A developer and @greggyb recorded a video explaining foundational AI concepts including tokens, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), context windows, and tokenmaxxing. The video aims to demystify how large language models process input and output, and how providing more context can improve responses.", "body_md": "Tokens are an important foundational concept that underlie how we interact with LLMs. [@greggyb](https://dev.to/greggyb) and myself recorded a quick video to demystify what a token actually is and unpack several other related concepts.\n\n##\nWhat's in the video\n\n- What is a token? Tokens are the basic unit of input and output that LLMs operate on.\n- What is retrieval-augmented generation (AKA RAG)? Providing a model with extra data that isn't already in the model's training dataset, and is relevant to a specific query.\n- What are context windows? Context windows are how many tokens a model can use for input and output. Context window size varies from model to model, but it has increased a lot in recent years.\n- What is tokenmaxxing? Does using more tokens really mean you're being more productive? (Spoiler alert: no.)\n\nTo paint a bigger picture: more context you give a large language model, the better your responses are likely to be. The design patterns for providing that context have evolved at a rapid pace, and are likely to continue doing so.\n\nWhat AI terms should we demystify next? Let us know!", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/ai-builder-essentials-tokens-context-windows-and-rag-101", "canonical_source": "https://dev.to/googleai/ai-builder-essentials-tokens-context-windows-and-rag-101-12bn", "published_at": "2026-07-24 19:16:22+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-07-24 19:32:59.920652+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["artificial-intelligence", "large-language-models", "generative-ai", "ai-tools"], "entities": ["greggyb"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/ai-builder-essentials-tokens-context-windows-and-rag-101", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/ai-builder-essentials-tokens-context-windows-and-rag-101.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/ai-builder-essentials-tokens-context-windows-and-rag-101.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/ai-builder-essentials-tokens-context-windows-and-rag-101.jsonld"}}