# Answer a question

`GET https://api.crawl4ai.com/answer`

Ask a question, get a direct answer. Some questions won't have one yet — then `answered` is `false` (use [/search](https://crawl4ai.com/docs/search/) for links). Ask for the shape you want in the question itself — "answer with JSON only: {…}", "as a markdown table", "quote the source and give its URL" — or pass a `schema`. Add `deep=0` for a direct answer only when one is readily available (no page reading). Experimental: the shape may still change.


> **Note: Status**
>
> experimental

## Request

curl:

```bash
curl "https://api.crawl4ai.com/answer?q=why+is+the+sky+blue" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_live_..."
```



response:

```json
{
  "answered": true,
  "answer": {
    "text": "The sky is blue because Earth's atmosphere scatters sunlight…",
    "source": "crawl4ai",
    "sources": [ { "title": "NASA", "url": "https://…" } ]
  },
  "query": "why is the sky blue",
  "experimental": true
}
```

## Query parameters

| Name | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| q | string | - | The question, or a whole prompt (max 4,000 characters). A long prompt is turned into a search query for you. |
| schema | object | - | A JSON Schema the answer must match; the answer is then JSON of exactly that shape. |
| deep | 0 \| 1 | 1 | Default 1: a direct answer from the web's top results, reading a couple of pages when needed. `0`: only an answer that is readily available. |

## Response

| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| `answer.text` | The answer. When the question asked for JSON, or a `schema` was given, it is JSON as a string: parse it. |
| `answer.source` | `google_ai_overview` or `google_ai_mode`: the web's own direct answer, word for word. `crawl4ai`: our model wrote it from the pages. |
| `answer.sources` | The pages it drew on, `{title, url}`; present when there are any. |
| `query` | The search query used for the question. |

> **Note: Price**
>
> Price: 1 credit for an answer found directly; 3 credits when our model writes it, whatever its length; nothing when `answered` is false or on a 400.



**Try it with your key**

Run this call in the playground and see the real answer, the time and the units.
[Open the playground](https://crawl4ai.com/#playground)



---
Source: https://crawl4ai.com/docs/answer/