---
title: Using the Ask Agent
description: Learn how to ask effective questions and get accurate answers with full citations
---


The Ask Agent lets you query your synced knowledge using natural language. It retrieves relevant facts and synthesizes accurate answers with full source traceability.

## Quick Start

Open the Ask interface at [http://localhost:8000/ask](http://localhost:8000/ask)

Type your question and press Enter. The agent will:
1. Search for relevant facts across all channels
2. Query the knowledge graph for related entities
3. Synthesize an answer using retrieved context
4. Provide citations linking to source messages

<Steps>
### Step 1: Ask effective questions

The quality of answers depends on how you phrase questions.

**Good Questions:**
- "What was decided about the authentication system?"
- "How does the payment flow work?"
- "Who is responsible for the database migration?"
- "What were the main issues with the API redesign?"

**Less Effective Questions:**
- "Tell me everything" (too broad)
- "What should I do?" (too vague)
- "Why?" (lacks context)

**Question Tips:**
- Be specific about what you want to know
- Mention relevant entities (people, projects, technologies)
- Specify the domain (architecture, process, decision)
- Use complete sentences, not keywords

### Step 2: Understand streaming responses

Answers stream in real-time using Server-Sent Events (SSE).

**What You'll See:**
1. **Thinking indicator**: Agent is searching and reasoning
2. **Answer text**: Streams word-by-word as generated
3. **Citations**: Appear as `[1]`, `[2]` in the answer
4. **Confidence score**: Shows how certain the agent is

**Streaming Benefits:**
- Faster perceived response time
- See the answer take shape immediately
- Can stop reading if it goes off-track

<Tabs items={['High Confidence', 'Medium Confidence', 'Low Confidence']}>
### High Confidence (>0.7)

The agent found strong, relevant evidence.

Example:
```
The authentication system uses JWT tokens with a 24-hour expiry.
Tokens are refreshed using a refresh token stored in Redis. [1][2]

Confidence: 0.89
```

### Medium Confidence (0.4-0.7)

The answer is based on partial or indirect evidence.

Example:
```
The payment flow appears to use Stripe based on discussions in March,
but the final implementation wasn't explicitly documented. [3]

Confidence: 0.52
```

### Low Confidence (&lt;0.4)

The agent couldn't find sufficient evidence. It may say "I don't know" or provide a cautious answer.

Example:
```
I couldn't find specific information about the database migration
timeline in the synced channels. [4]

Confidence: 0.21
```

</Tabs>

### Step 3: Read citations

Every claim in the answer is backed by citations.

**Citation Format:**
```
The API rate limit is 100 requests per minute. [1]
```

Click `[1]` to see:
- **Source message**: The original Slack/Discord message
- **Sender**: Who wrote it
- **Timestamp**: When it was sent
- **Channel**: Where it was posted
- **Context**: Surrounding messages for clarity

<Callout type="info">
**Why Citations Matter**: Citations let you verify the answer yourself. If something seems wrong, check the source message to understand the context.
</Callout>

### Step 4: Provide feedback

Help the agent improve by rating answers.

**Thumbs Up (👍)**
- Answer was accurate and helpful
- Reinforces good retrieval patterns

**Thumbs Down (👎)**
- Answer was wrong or unhelpful
- Optionally provide feedback on what was wrong

Feedback helps the system learn which retrieval strategies work best for your knowledge base.

### Step 5: Use session continuity

The Ask Agent maintains conversation context within a session.

**Follow-up Questions:**
```
You: What was decided about authentication?
Agent: [Answers about JWT tokens]

You: Who made that decision?
Agent: [Answers about specific people, remembers context of "authentication decision"]
```

**Session Memory:**
- Remembers last 10 turns
- Maintains context across related questions
- Resets when you start a new session (click "New Chat")

**Tips for Follow-ups:**
- Use pronouns ("it", "that") to refer to previous topics
- Ask for clarification ("Which team member?")
- Drill deeper ("Tell me more about X")

### Step 6: Example question patterns

<Tabs items={['Decision Questions', 'Process Questions', 'Entity Questions', 'Comparison Questions']}>

### Decision Questions

"What was decided about X?"
"Why did we choose Y over Z?"
"When was the decision made to...?"

Examples:
- "What was decided about the microservices architecture?"
- "Why did we choose PostgreSQL over MongoDB?"
- "When did we decide to switch to TypeScript?"

### Process Questions

"How does X work?"
"What's the process for Y?"
"What are the steps to...?"

Examples:
- "How does the deployment pipeline work?"
- "What's the process for code review?"
- "How are user onboarding emails sent?"

### Entity Questions

"Who is responsible for X?"
"What projects use technology Y?"
"What teams are working on...?"

Examples:
- "Who is responsible for the payment integration?"
- "What projects use GraphQL?"
- "What teams are working on mobile app?"

### Comparison Questions

"What's the difference between X and Y?"
"Compare X and Y"
"X vs Y: which is better?"

Examples:
- "What's the difference between the staging and production environments?"
- "Compare REST vs GraphQL in our API"
- "Authentication tokens vs sessions: which do we use?"

</Tabs>

</Steps>

---

## Troubleshooting

<Callout type="warning">
**Agent says "I don't know"**: This usually means the information isn't in your synced channels. Try:
- Syncing more channels
- Rephrasing your question
- Checking if the topic was discussed in a different context
</Callout>

**Low confidence answers**: The agent found some evidence but isn't certain. Always check citations before acting on the answer.

**Slow responses**: Large knowledge bases take longer to search. Consider filtering by channel or date range in your question.

---

## Next Steps

- Explore the [knowledge graph](/docs/tutorials/knowledge-graph) for visual exploration
- Import [documents](/docs/tutorials/file-import) to expand your knowledge base
- Learn about [prompt tuning](/docs/guides/prompt-tuning) for advanced configuration
