# Web answer

> Get a short answer to a question from current web sources, with citations.

`web_answer` answers a question with a short answer written from current web sources, and cites them. Use it for a quick factual answer; use [`web_search`](https://clonvo.com/docs/web-search.md) when you want to read and compare the sources yourself, and [`web_research`](https://clonvo.com/docs/web-research.md) for a longer report from many sources.

Call it with `POST /v1/tools/web_answer`, or as `web_answer` over [MCP](https://clonvo.com/docs/mcp.md).

## Arguments

-   `query` string Required
    
    The question to answer.
    

## Example

```bash
curl https://api.clonvo.com/v1/tools/web_answer \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $CLONVO_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{ "arguments": { "query": "Who founded Weaviate and when?" } }'
```

```json
{
  "id": "gen-01M6A2D3E4F5G6H7J8K9M0N1P2",
  "tool": "web_answer",
  "provider": "clonvo",
  "result": {
    "query": "Who founded Weaviate and when?",
    "answer": "Weaviate was founded in 2019 by Bob van Luijt and Etienne Dilocker in Amsterdam.",
    "citations": [
      { "title": "SeMI Technologies becomes Weaviate", "url": "https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/semi-technologies-becomes-weaviate-301724760.html", "published_at": "2023-01-18T14:00:00.000Z" }
    ]
  },
  "usage": { "cost": 0.005, "charged": 0.0051, "is_byok": false }
}
```

## Result

| Field | Description |
| --- | --- |
| `query` | The question you asked. |
| `answer` | The answer, as text. |
| `citations[]` | The sources the answer relied on: `title` and `url`, with `snippet` (a short excerpt) and `published_at` when the provider gives them. |
| `notes` | Present when the provider handled an argument differently. |

The fields around `result` (`id`, `tool`, `provider`, `usage`) are the same for every tool; see [Calling tools](https://clonvo.com/docs/calling-tools.md#response).

## Notes

-   Results can differ slightly between providers; `notes` says when an argument was handled differently.
-   A question can carry private context, as a prompt does, so it’s never stored as a [web tool query](https://clonvo.com/docs/privacy.md#web-tool-queries).