Answer concepts

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Overview

The /answer endpoint performs single-shot retrieval-augmented generation (RAG): it runs a grounding search automatically, then returns a direct, natural-language answer with citations to the sources it used.

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Answer tiers

The model parameter selects how much work Seltz does to answer your question: An omitted or unrecognized model falls back to seltz-base; the response shape is unchanged either way.

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Structured output and citations

By default, an answer is Markdown text with citations linked inline. Requesting a response_format changes the answer to a JSON string matching your schema — under structured output, inline citations no longer appear in the answer text, but the citations field is still returned. A malformed response_format is rejected before the request is billed.

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Next steps

To learn more about Seltz answer, check out the following topics:

• Basic answer — Making your first answer request
• Request a structured response — Requesting a specific response format
• Steer tone and style — Steering tone, voice, and format
• Answer API Reference — Full request and response specification
• Errors — Status codes and error handling for Search and Answer