> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.clarityq.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# How Ask Anything Works

> What happens behind the scenes when you ask ClarityQ a question.

When you ask a question in Ask Anything, ClarityQ's AI agent goes through a structured workflow to find the most accurate answer. Understanding this workflow helps you ask better questions and interpret results more effectively.

## The Agent Workflow

Every question goes through these steps:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Search the Semantic Catalog">
    The agent searches your Semantic Catalog for relevant components — metrics, features, segments, and entities that match the business concepts in your question.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Review matching components">
    The agent examines each promising result in detail, reviewing its properties, dimensions, measures, and logic to determine what's relevant.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Import components">
    Components that will be used in the analysis are imported, similar to loading the right definitions before writing a query. If a component has clarification hooks, the agent may ask you a question before proceeding.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Execute SQL">
    The agent builds and runs a SQL query against your data warehouse, applying the appropriate date range, filters, and constraints.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Present results">
    Results are returned with a written insight, data table, and — when the visualization toggle is on — rich visualizations including charts and full visual reports.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Note>
  The agent performs the search, review, and import steps silently. You only see the final results — SQL, data, visualizations, and the written analysis.
</Note>

## How the Agent Uses Your Context Layer

The quality of answers depends directly on your Context Layer:

| Context Layer Component | How the Agent Uses It                                                                                 |
| ----------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Semantic Catalog**    | Primary source for business definitions — metrics, features, segments, dimensions, and entities       |
| **Table Catalog**       | Falls back to raw table/column metadata when no semantic component exists                             |
| **Memory**              | Injects business rules, naming conventions, and domain knowledge into the agent's reasoning           |
| **Skills**              | When invoked with `/`, follows step-by-step analysis methodologies with clarifications and validation |

## Parallel Execution

The agent runs independent operations in parallel — for example, searching for multiple concepts simultaneously or viewing several components at once. This makes complex analyses faster without sacrificing accuracy.

## When the Agent Asks for Clarification

If your question is ambiguous or the agent discovers multiple valid interpretations during its search, it will ask a clarification question before executing. For example:

* "Do you mean **daily active users** or **monthly active users**?"
* "Which region should I filter to — US only or global?"

Answer the clarification to continue. This ensures accuracy rather than guessing.