Tools Overview

Shadai provides five powerful tools for different use cases. This guide helps you choose the right tool for your needs.

Available Tools

Tool	Best For	Streaming	Memory
Query	Specific questions	✅	✅
Summarize	Document overview	✅	✅
Web Search	Current information	✅	✅
Engine	Multi-source analysis	✅	✅
Agent	Custom workflows	✅	✅

Query Tool

Purpose: Ask specific questions about your documents.

Use When:

You have a specific question

Need information from documents

Want to cite sources

Examples:

"What's the refund policy?"

"Who is the contract between?"

"What are the main findings?"

"List all requirements"

Best Practices:
✅ Be specific
✅ Use follow-up questions
✅ Enable memory for conversations

❌ Don't ask extremely broad questions
❌ Don't query without ingesting documents first

Summarize Tool

Purpose: Get an executive summary of all documents in a session.

Use When:

Starting a new project

Need overview before deep dive

Want to understand document scope

Presenting to stakeholders

What It Provides:

Main topics covered

Key themes

Important entities

Document structure

Overall insights

Best Practices:
✅ Run after ingesting all documents
✅ Use as conversation starter
✅ Follow up with specific queries

❌ Don't use for detailed analysis
❌ Don't use with no documents

Web Search Tool

Purpose: Find current information from the internet.

Use When:

Need latest news/data

Checking current trends

Verifying recent information

Researching live topics

Examples:

"Current stock price of Tesla"

"Latest COVID-19 guidelines"

"Recent AI breakthroughs"

"Today's weather in NYC"

Best Practices:
✅ Use for time-sensitive queries
✅ Be specific with dates
✅ Combine with document queries

❌ Don't use for historical data
❌ Don't use for private information

Engine Tool

Purpose: Orchestrate multiple tools for comprehensive analysis.

Use When:

Need multi-source insights

Comparing documents with trends

Comprehensive research

Complex analysis

Capabilities:

Combines document knowledge

Adds web search results

Includes summaries

Synthesizes information

Examples:

"How do our policies compare to competitors?"

"Analyze documents and check current market trends"

"What's missing from our strategy based on industry best practices?"

Best Practices:
✅ Use for complex questions
✅ Enable relevant capabilities
✅ Let it synthesize information

❌ Don't use for simple queries
❌ Don't enable all features unnecessarily

Agent Tool

Purpose: Execute custom workflows with your own tools.

Use When:

Need custom functionality

Integrating with your systems

Automating complex workflows

Building specialized applications

How It Works:

Plans: Determines which tools to use

Executes: Runs tools with inferred arguments

Synthesizes: Combines results into answer

Examples:

Database queries + report generation

API calls + data analysis

Multi-step workflows

Custom business logic

Best Practices:
✅ Provide clear tool descriptions
✅ Use type hints
✅ Keep tools focused

❌ Don't create overlapping tools
❌ Don't make tools too complex

Tool Comparison

Query vs. Summarize

Use Query When:

Have specific question

Need detailed answer

Want to cite specific sections

Use Summarize When:

Need overview

Starting research

Want big picture

Query vs. Web Search

Use Query When:

Information in your documents

Need private/internal data

Historical information

Use Web Search When:

Need current data

Public information

Live updates

Query vs. Engine

Use Query When:

Simple, direct question

Single source sufficient

Fast answer needed

Use Engine When:

Complex analysis

Multiple sources needed

Synthesis required

Engine vs. Agent

Use Engine When:

Standard capabilities sufficient

Document + web + summary

No custom logic needed

Use Agent When:

Custom tools required

Specialized workflows

Integration with systems

Combining Tools

Pattern 1: Overview → Deep Dive

Pattern 2: Documents + Current Data

Pattern 3: Custom Workflow

Tool Selection Guide

Start Here:

Do you need custom functionality?
    ├─ Yes → Agent
    └─ No ↓

Do you need current/live data?
    ├─ Yes → Web Search
    └─ No ↓

Do you need multi-source analysis?
    ├─ Yes → Engine
    └─ No ↓

Do you need overview of documents?
    ├─ Yes → Summarize
    └─ No → Query

Available Tools

Query Tool

Summarize Tool

Web Search Tool

Engine Tool

Agent Tool

Tool Comparison

Query vs. Summarize

Query vs. Web Search

Query vs. Engine

Engine vs. Agent

Combining Tools

Pattern 1: Overview → Deep Dive

Pattern 2: Documents + Current Data

Pattern 3: Custom Workflow

Tool Selection Guide

Common Patterns

Research Workflow

Due Diligence Workflow

Market Analysis Workflow

Performance Tips

Fast Queries

Complex Analysis

Batch Processing

Next Steps

Tools Overview

Available Tools#

Query Tool#

Summarize Tool#

Web Search Tool#

Engine Tool#

Agent Tool#

Tool Comparison#

Query vs. Summarize#

Query vs. Web Search#

Query vs. Engine#

Engine vs. Agent#

Combining Tools#

Pattern 1: Overview → Deep Dive#

Pattern 2: Documents + Current Data#

Pattern 3: Custom Workflow#

Tool Selection Guide#

Common Patterns#

Research Workflow#

Due Diligence Workflow#

Market Analysis Workflow#

Performance Tips#

Fast Queries#

Complex Analysis#

Batch Processing#

Next Steps#

Available Tools

Query Tool

Summarize Tool

Web Search Tool

Engine Tool

Agent Tool

Tool Comparison

Query vs. Summarize

Query vs. Web Search

Query vs. Engine

Engine vs. Agent

Combining Tools

Pattern 1: Overview → Deep Dive

Pattern 2: Documents + Current Data

Pattern 3: Custom Workflow

Tool Selection Guide

Common Patterns

Research Workflow

Due Diligence Workflow

Market Analysis Workflow

Performance Tips

Fast Queries

Complex Analysis

Batch Processing

Next Steps