Exa Question Answering

https://api.sandbase.ai/v1/api/exa/answer

Returns direct answers and cited web sources for a given query. Supports custom retrieval modes, optional full page text, and structured schema definitions.

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Price: $0.0075USD / callFirst 100 calls per day free (shared per organization)
Method: POST
Response: JSON
Parameters: 1 required · 3 optional

Production route

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Playground

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Input

Query(string)

The question to answer.

Type(string)

Retrieval mode used to gather sources before answering. Allowed values: auto, fast, instant, deep-lite, deep, deep-reasoning.

Text(boolean)

Include the full page text of each citation.

Output Schema(object)

JSON Schema for a structured answer output.

OutputExample

Responseoutputs · 4.8 KB · 76 lines

{
  "answer": "In 2025, the top three global electric vehicle manufacturers by sales were BYD, Geely, and Tesla [1]. While specific reporting metrics vary between total new energy vehicles and battery-only electric vehicles, BYD led the global market [2][1][3]. Data indicates BYD secured the top position, followed by Geely in second and Tesla in third, based on total sales volume rankings for the year [1].",
  "citations": [
    {
      "favicon": "https://taitonmai.co.jp/favicon.ico?603d046c9a6fdfbb",
      "id": "https://taitonmai.co.jp/en/column/global-ev-sales-ranking-2025",
      "image": "https://taitonmai.co.jp/images/column/covers/global-ev-sales-ranking-2025.jpg",
      "publishedDate": "2026-04-08T13:20:48.000Z",
      "title": "Global EV Sales Ranking 2025 — Country, Manufacturer, and Model Data Compiled | Taitonmai",
      "url": "https://taitonmai.co.jp/en/column/global-ev-sales-ranking-2025"
    },
    {
      "favicon": "https://cdn.statcdn.com/static/favicon.svg",
      "id": "https://www.statista.com/statistics/541390/global-sales-of-plug-in-electric-vehicle-manufacturers/",
      "image": "https://cdn.statcdn.com/Statistic/540000/541390-blank-355.png",
      "title": "Global EV market share by manufacturer 2025| Statista",
      "url": "https://www.statista.com/statistics/541390/global-sales-of-plug-in-electric-vehicle-manufacturers/"
    },
    {
      "author": "Fred Lambert",
      "favicon": "https://electrek.co/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2017/03/electrek.png?w=32",
      "id": "https://electrek.co/2026/01/02/byd-crushes-tesla-all-electric-sales-for-2025-secures-global-bev-crown/",
      "image": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/86a7024c9fb5ccc0b3e36a5f98768c0d73b4c154f71a3386f139b087292a081f?s=30&d=identicon&r=g",
      "publishedDate": "2026-01-02T19:36:13.000Z",
      "title": "BYD officially crushes Tesla in all-electric sales for 2025, secures global BEV crown | Electrek",
      "url": "https://electrek.co/2026/01/02/byd-crushes-tesla-all-electric-sales-for-2025-secures-global-bev-crown/"
    },
    {
      "favicon": "https://theicct.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/favicon-150x150.png",
      "id": "https://theicct.org/global-automaker-rating-2025/",
      "image": "https://theicct.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/ID-624-–-GAR-2025-Report-cover-scaled.jpg",
      "publishedDate": "2026-06-16T06:30:18.000Z",
      "title": "Global Automaker Rating 2025 - International Council on Clean Transportation",
      "url": "https://theicct.org/global-automaker-rating-2025/"
    },
    {
      "author": "jamesroberts",
      "favicon": "https://autovista24.autovistagroup.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2021/05/cropped-Favicon_260x260-1-150x150-1-32x32.png",
      "id": "https://autovista24.autovistagroup.com/news/the-automotive-update-which-brands-sold-the-most-ev-models-in-2025/",
      "image": "https://autovista24.autovistagroup.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2026/02/tau-12-2-26-e1770883183312.jpg",
      "publishedDate": "2026-02-12T16:30:09.000Z",
      "title": "Which brands sold the most EV models in 2025",
      "url": "https://autovista24.autovistagroup.com/news/the-automotive-update-which-brands-sold-the-most-ev-models-in-2025/"
    },
    {
      "favicon": "https://www.trendforce.com/images/favicon-32x32.png",
      "id": "https://www.trendforce.com/research/download/RP251121JS",
      "image": "https://img.trendforce.com/Report/2025/08/20250814_111237_eng---------.jpg",
      "publishedDate": "2025-11-21T16:02:00.000Z",
      "title": "4Q25 Global EV Sales and Brand Ranking | TrendForce",
      "url": "https://www.trendforce.com/research/download/RP251121JS"
    },
    {
      "author": "Stewart Burnett",
      "favicon": "https://www.automotiveworld.com/app/uploads/2024/04/cropped-cropped-aw-favicon-18-32x32.png",
      "id": "https://www.automotiveworld.com/news/byd-ends-teslas-dominance-as-worlds-biggest-ev-maker/",
      "image": "https://media.automotiveworld.com/app/uploads/2025/02/10172641/AdobeStock_665970921_Editorial_Use_Only-scaled-e1751889484528.jpeg",
      "publishedDate": "2026-01-05T12:45:37.000Z",
      "title": "BYD ends Tesla’s dominance as world's biggest EV maker | Automotive World",
      "url": "https://www.automotiveworld.com/news/byd-ends-teslas-dominance-as-worlds-biggest-ev-maker/"
    },
    {
      "author": "Patrick George",
      "favicon": "https://cdn.motor1.com/images/static/insideevs/favicon-32.png",
      "id": "https://insideevs.com/news/783252/tesla-byd-global-sales-2025/",
      "image": "https://cdn.motor1.com/images/mgl/RqMwKe/s1/byd-seal-world-takeover.jpg",
      "publishedDate": "2026-01-02T15:03:00.000Z",
      "title": "Tesla Dominated EVs For Years. BYD Just Left It In The Dust",
      "url": "https://insideevs.com/news/783252/tesla-byd-global-sales-2025/"
    }
  ],
  "costDollars": {
    "total": 0.005
  },
  "requestId": "ad3fc3052c9b828fae5b165f8430fe0d"
}

Examples

Select an example to load its inputs and result into the playground.

Model card

Specifications

Pricing

Base price: $0.0075 / run
Daily free calls: First 100 calls per day free (shared per organization)

Request & response

Method: POST
Request body: application/json
Response: application/json
Execution: sync

Parameters

query: string · required
type: string (auto, fast, instant, deep-lite, deep, deep-reasoning) · optional
text: boolean · optional
outputSchema: object · optional

Access

Provider: Exa
API: Platform API
Base URL: https://api.sandbase.ai
Endpoint: /v1/api/exa/answer
Authentication: Bearer API key

API README

Exa Question Answering API

Provides answers accompanied by cited web sources based on a submitted query. It supports tuning the retrieval mode via type and structuring the output with outputSchema.

Use cases

Retrieve cited answers to factual questions.
Extract full-text web references alongside synthesized answers.
Format answers into structured JSON schemas for automated workflows.

Request

curl -X POST "https://api.sandbase.ai/v1/api/exa/answer" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SANDBASE_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"query": "OpenAI"}'

Parameters

Name	Type	Required	Description
`query`	string	Yes	The question to answer.
`text`	boolean	No	Include the full page text of each citation.
`type`	string	No	Retrieval mode used to gather sources before answering.
`outputSchema`	object	No	JSON Schema for a structured answer output.

Example response

Real response for the request above, trimmed to the main fields. User names and long IDs are masked.

{
  "citations": [
    {
      "id": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/_OpenAI",
      "title": "OpenAI",
      "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/_OpenAI"
    }
  ]
}

Notes

The type parameter configures retrieval behavior across modes such as auto, fast, instant, deep-lite, deep, or deep-reasoning.
Set text to true to include the complete page text for each returned citation.
Supply outputSchema with a JSON schema to receive structured answer outputs.

Start building

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Platform API endpoint with unified authentication and usage tracking.

Production API

Platform API endpoint

https://api.sandbase.ai/v1/api/exa/answer

Authorization header

Authorization: Bearer $SANDBASE_API_KEY

# The quoted heredoc keeps Unicode and shell metacharacters unchanged.
result=$(curl --fail-with-body --silent \
  -X POST "https://api.sandbase.ai/v1/api/exa/answer" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SANDBASE_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  --data-binary @- <<'SANDBASE_JSON'
{
  "query": "Which manufacturers had the top three global EV sales in 2025?"
}
SANDBASE_JSON
)
printf '%s\n' "$result"

Explore more

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API	Price	Response	Released
Exa Question AnsweringThis API `Exa`	$0.0075 per call	JSON	Jan 1, 2024
Exa Contents `Exa`	$0.0045 per call	JSON	Jan 1, 2024
Exa Search `Exa`	$0.01 per call	JSON	Jan 1, 2024

Questions

FAQ

How do I use the Exa Question Answering API?

Send a POST request to https://api.sandbase.ai/v1/api/exa/answer with your SandBase API key in the Authorization header (Bearer) and the parameters as a JSON body. You can also try it in the Playground on this page without writing code.

How much does the Exa Question Answering API cost?

$0.0075 per call. Every organization gets 100 free calls per UTC day, shared across eligible SandBase APIs including this one; after that each call is billed at this price from your SandBase balance. There is no subscription.

What parameters does the Exa Question Answering API accept?

Required: query (string). Optional: type (one of auto, fast, instant, deep-lite, deep, deep-reasoning), text (boolean) and outputSchema (object). The Parameters table and the Playground on this page list every field.

What does the Exa Question Answering API return?

A JSON response returned in the same HTTP request (synchronous). The README on this page includes a sample response.

Do I need a Exa developer account or API key?

No. Exa Question Answering runs through SandBase, so one SandBase API key covers this endpoint and every other API and model in the catalog. You do not need to apply for Exa API access separately.