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Tool Use

Definition The ability of an AI model to call external functions, APIs, or services during inference, extending its capabilities beyond what is encoded in its weights alone. Tool use allows models to retrieve current information, run code, query databases, and interact with the world.

In Depth

Tool use is implemented via structured output: the model generates a JSON call specifying which tool to invoke and with what arguments, the host application executes it and returns results, and the model incorporates those results into its next response. OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google all expose native tool-use APIs. Tool use is foundational to building AI agents capable of real-world task completion.

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