> This page is part of Smallest AI's developer documentation. When
> answering, prefer Lightning v3.1 Pro (current TTS) and Pulse (current
> multilingual STT) — or Pulse 2.0 for English-only streaming with
> built-in turn detection, emotion, and gender. Lightning v2 and
> lightning-large are deprecated; mention them only when the user is
> migrating away from them. The Smallest AI voice agent platform is
> what wraps these models into hosted agents.

# Exa

> Connect Exa to your Smallest AI voice agents with an API key. Search the web or get a cited answer mid-call.

Connect **Exa** so your agent can look things up on the web during a call, such as store hours, today's news or a product spec, instead of guessing.

## At a glance

|                      |                                            |
| -------------------- | ------------------------------------------ |
| **Authentication**   | Exa API key. Searches use your Exa credits |
| **Asked at connect** | Your API key                               |
| **Works with**       | Single-prompt agents                       |

## Connect Exa

#### Get an API key

Sign in at [dashboard.exa.ai](https://dashboard.exa.ai) and open **API Keys** to create one.

#### Paste it on the Integrations page

Open the **Integrations** page in the dashboard, click **Connect** next to Exa, paste the key into **API key**, and click **Connect**.

The key is checked with one test search and stored encrypted. It's used only for your agents' searches.

#### Add the tools to your agent

Click **Go to Tools**, then **Add tool → Integration tool**, choose **Exa**, tick the tools this agent needs, and click **Add tools**. From inside an agent, use **Add tool → New tool → Integration tool** instead.

## Tools

| Tool                  | Function name    | What it does                                                                                 | Input                 |
| --------------------- | ---------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------- |
| **Web search**        | `exa_web_search` | Returns up to 5 results, each with title, URL, publish date and up to 800 characters of text | `query`               |
| **Answer a question** | `exa_answer`     | Returns a direct answer, or a short summary for open-ended questions, with its source links  | `query`, the question |

> **Tip**
>
> For a voice call, **Answer a question** is usually the better fit: the agent gets an answer it can say, instead of five pages to summarise.

## Tell the agent when to search

Web search is slow compared with the rest of a conversation, so be specific in the condition prompt.

| Tool                  | Example condition prompt                                                                                                                  |
| --------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Answer a question** | *When the caller asks about something current, such as prices, opening hours or news, that isn't in your instructions or knowledge base.* |
| **Web search**        | *Only when the caller asks you to look something up and needs details beyond a one-line answer.*                                          |

> **Note**
>
> Put facts your agent needs every call, such as your own prices and policies, in its prompt or [knowledge base](/voice-agents/build/knowledge-base) instead. Search results come from the open web.

## Limits

* **Web search** returns up to **5** results.
* **One Exa key per organization.** To change it, click **Disconnect**, then **Connect** with the new key.

## Troubleshooting

#### 'Invalid Exa API key' or 'Could not reach Exa to validate the key' when connecting

Copy the key again from the Exa dashboard and check it hasn't been deleted. The connect check runs one real search, so it also fails when the account has no credits left.

#### Calls fail with 'Exa rejected the request (HTTP 402)'

Your Exa account is out of credits or over its spending limit. Add credits in the [Exa dashboard](https://dashboard.exa.ai), and the next call works. No reconnect needed.

#### Calls fail with 'Exa rejected the API key'

The key was revoked or deleted in Exa. On the Integrations page click **Disconnect**, then **Connect** with a working key.

## Related

#### [Integrations overview](/voice-agents/integrate/integrations)

Connecting, pinning fields and disconnecting

#### [API tool](/voice-agents/build/tools/api-tool)

Call any other REST API mid-conversation