Enrichments
Web research
MAIA's web research takes a question the data cannot answer and returns an answer from the public web, with links to the pages it rests on.
What it answers#
Core data holds what is recorded. The web holds what is published: an ordinance, a company's commitments, a program's rules.
You ask
Which candidates allow BESS by right, and what setbacks apply in that municipality?
Note
An ordinance is written per municipality, not per parcel. Run a question like this on the shortlist, not on every parcel in the county. As a column on 5,000 parcels, the same research runs 5,000 times and every row spends credits. See Run an enrichment.
What you get#
| Part | What it holds |
|---|---|
| Value | What it holdsThe answer, typed as yes or no, a number, a category, a link, or text |
| Reasoning | What it holdsOne or two sentences that lead with the finding |
| Sources | What it holdsThe pages the answer rests on, with links |
When the research finds nothing it can support, the cell reads Unavailable and the reasoning says what was checked. A web answer with no research behind it is also rejected and reads Unavailable. See Sub-agents.
What it is for#
MAIA reaches for the web last, after the project's own data, core data, and public GIS layers. A record is faster and spends fewer credits.
| Use web research for | Not for |
|---|---|
| What an ordinance permits | Not forA parcel's acreage, owner, or zoning code |
| What a company has published | Not forAnything already in a column of the project |
| A program's rules and deadlines | Not forA fact MAIA's core data holds |
| A public page | Not forA page behind a login or a paywall. It cannot be a source |
Note
A zoning code is the name of a district. It is not a ruling on what you may build. MAIA says what a code allows only after it has read the ordinance. Without that, it marks the claim unverified rather than answering from memory. See Gaps in the records.
Two ways to run it#
| Agent | What it can do | When |
|---|---|---|
| Main agent | What it can doSearch the web | WhenIn chat, to answer a question about the project |
| Sub-agents | What it can doSearch the web | WhenRow by row, to fill a researched column |
Limits#
- No browser session. MAIA reads pages. It does not click, fill in forms, or step through a site.
- No logins and no paywalls. MAIA reads public pages only.
- Some pages cannot be read. A page MAIA cannot open is not a source.
- Research is bounded. Each row gets a fixed amount of research. A question that needs a day of digging will come back thin.
- A PDF attached to chat is context, not research. Where PDF attachments are turned on, MAIA reads the file as context for the conversation. It adds no rows. See File formats.
In the app and over MCP#
| Where | How |
|---|---|
| The web app | HowAsk in chat, or choose Add enrichment above the table |
| MCP | HowAsk in the request of create_project, or in a send_message |
Related#
- Sub-agents explains what a web sub-agent can use and how its answers are judged.
- Data discovery finds public GIS layers, which MAIA tries before it researches.
- Review explains how to check a source.