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The Ask AI node lets you ask AI to help with text. It’s like having a smart assistant that can summarize long emails, categorize support tickets, write responses, extract information from documents, and much more.
Ask AI node configuration form

Ask AI configuration — pick a model, write the system + user prompt, name the output variable.

When to Use

  • Summarizing - Turn a long document into bullet points
  • Categorizing - Sort emails into “Sales”, “Support”, “Spam”, etc.
  • Extracting - Pull out names, dates, and numbers from messy text
  • Writing - Generate email replies, reports, or social posts
  • Translating - Convert text to another language
  • Analyzing - Detect if a message is positive or negative, urgent or not
  • Reformatting - Turn a paragraph into a list, or vice versa
Use AI when you need to understand meaning. For simple tasks like removing spaces or splitting text, use Execute Code instead - it’s faster and costs less.

Example: Email Categorizer

Automatically categorize incoming support emails:
1

Set up the event trigger

Add an Event from App node for Gmail to receive incoming emails.
2

Configure Ask AI

Add an Ask AI node with:System prompt:
User message:
3

Route based on category

Add a Multi-Condition node using {{llm_1.response}} to route to different handling workflows.

Example: Meeting Summary Generator

Create structured meeting notes from transcripts: System prompt:
User message:
Output usage:

Example: Data Extraction

Extract structured data from unstructured text: System prompt:
User message:
Using the extracted data:

Tips for Getting Good Results

Be Specific About What You Want

The more specific you are, the better the result.

Give Background Information

Context helps the AI understand what it’s working with.

Tell It Exactly How to Respond

If you need a specific format, say so clearly.

Show Examples

Examples help the AI understand exactly what you’re looking for.

Structured Output

For reliable parsing, instruct the model to respond in JSON: System prompt:
User message:
Use temperature 0 when you need consistent, structured output. Higher temperatures can cause format variations.

Which Model Should I Choose?

Model names and capabilities change frequently. The model selector in the UI shows current options with their capabilities.

Remembering Previous Conversations

By default, each Ask AI node starts fresh with no memory of previous AI calls. But you can enable memory:
Without memory, the second question would fail because the AI wouldn’t know what “its” refers to.
Memory makes each call use more resources. If your workflow has many AI steps, set a limit on how much it remembers.

Saving Money on AI Costs

  • Use simpler models for simple tasks - Don’t use GPT-4 when GPT-3.5 would work fine
  • Keep responses short when possible - If you only need a yes/no answer, don’t allow long responses
  • Save results to reuse later - Use Update Variable so you don’t have to ask the same question twice
  • Skip AI when you don’t need it - Use Condition nodes to avoid unnecessary AI calls

Tips

Use the “Fill by AI” feature when configuring prompts. It can help you write better prompts based on your workflow context.
Chain multiple Ask AI nodes for complex tasks: one to analyze, one to decide, one to generate. This improves reliability and makes debugging easier.

Settings

string
default:"Ask AI"
What to call this node (shown on the canvas).
string
default:"llm_1"
A short code to reference this node’s response.
string
required
Which AI company to use:
  • OpenAI - Makes GPT-4 and ChatGPT
  • Anthropic - Makes Claude
  • Google - Makes Gemini
string
required
Which specific AI model to use. Newer/larger models are smarter but cost more.
string
Background instructions for the AI. This sets the context and tells the AI how to behave.
string
required
What you want the AI to do. This is your main question or request. You can include data from previous nodes using {{node_name.value}}.
number
default:"0.7"
How creative vs. consistent the AI should be. 0 = same answer every time. 1 = more varied and creative.
number
default:"1024"
How long the response can be. A token is roughly 3-4 characters for English text (varies by language and content).
number
default:"3"
How many times to try again if something goes wrong.

Conversation Memory

boolean
default:"false"
Enable to maintain conversation context across multiple Ask AI calls in the same workflow execution.
number
default:"10"
When memory is enabled, how many previous messages to include as context.

Outputs

string
The model’s text response.
object
Token usage statistics:
  • promptTokens - Tokens in your input
  • completionTokens - Tokens in the response
  • totalTokens - Combined total
string
Why the model stopped generating:
  • stop - Natural completion
  • length - Hit max tokens limit

Call AI Agent

For complex AI tasks, use a dedicated agent application.

Execute Code

Process AI responses with custom code.