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

# Ask Content

> AI-powered question answering over your project's embedded content

`useAskContent` lets users ask natural language questions and receive AI-generated answers grounded in your project's actual content. The answer streams token by token via SSE, and once streaming completes, a list of source records is provided.

## Usage Example

```tsx theme={null}
import { useAskContent } from "@sublay/react-js";

function AskBox() {
  const { answer, sources, streaming, loading, error, ask, reset } = useAskContent();

  const handleAsk = () => {
    ask({
      query: "What are the most common questions about billing?",
      sourceTypes: ["entity", "comment"],
      limit: 5,
    });
  };

  return (
    <div>
      <button onClick={handleAsk} disabled={loading || streaming}>Ask</button>
      <button onClick={reset}>Clear</button>

      {loading && <p>Thinking...</p>}
      {answer && <p>{answer}{streaming && "▋"}</p>}

      {sources.length > 0 && (
        <ul>
          {sources.map((s) => (
            <li key={s.record.id}>
              [{s.sourceType}] {s.record.id}
            </li>
          ))}
        </ul>
      )}
      {error && <p style={{ color: "red" }}>{error}</p>}
    </div>
  );
}
```

## Parameters (`ask` function)

<ParamField path="query" type="string" required>
  The natural language question to answer.
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="sourceTypes" type="(&#x22;entity&#x22; | &#x22;comment&#x22; | &#x22;message&#x22;)[]">
  Limit the content types searched for context. Defaults to all types.
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="spaceId" type="string">
  Scope the context lookup to a specific space.
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="includeChildSpaces" type="boolean" default="false">
  Only applies with `spaceId`. When `true`, the context lookup also covers every space nested under it — the whole subtree at any depth — so you can ask across a community and all of its channels at once. Ignored without `spaceId`.
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="conversationId" type="string">
  Scope the context lookup to a specific conversation.
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="limit" type="number">
  Maximum number of source records to retrieve and use as context.
</ParamField>

## Returns

<ResponseField name="answer" type="string">
  The AI-generated answer. Grows incrementally as tokens arrive during streaming.
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="sources" type="ContentSearchResult[]">
  The source records that were used as context for the answer. Populated after streaming completes.

  <Expandable title="ContentSearchResult properties">
    <ResponseField name="sourceType" type="&#x22;entity&#x22; | &#x22;comment&#x22; | &#x22;message&#x22;">
      The type of the source record.
    </ResponseField>

    <ResponseField name="similarity" type="number">
      Cosine similarity score (0–1) for this source.
    </ResponseField>

    <ResponseField name="record" type="Entity | Comment | ChatMessage">
      The full source record.
    </ResponseField>
  </Expandable>
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="streaming" type="boolean">
  `true` while the SSE stream is open and tokens are arriving.
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="loading" type="boolean">
  `true` from when `ask()` is called until the first token arrives (or an error occurs).
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="error" type="string | null">
  Error message if the request failed.
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="ask" type="(props) => void">
  Initiates the AI question. Cancels any in-flight stream before starting a new one.
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="reset" type="() => void">
  Aborts any in-flight stream and clears all state.
</ResponseField>

<Note>
  `useAskContent` uses the Fetch API with `ReadableStream` and `TextDecoder` for SSE. In React Native, install `react-native-fetch-api`, `web-streams-polyfill@^3`, `react-native-polyfill-globals`, and `text-encoding`, then call the targeted sub-polyfills once at app startup:

  ```ts theme={null}
  import { polyfill as polyfillEncoding } from "react-native-polyfill-globals/src/encoding";
  import { polyfill as polyfillReadableStream } from "react-native-polyfill-globals/src/readable-stream";
  import { polyfill as polyfillFetch } from "react-native-polyfill-globals/src/fetch";

  polyfillEncoding();
  polyfillReadableStream();
  polyfillFetch(); // last, so it wins over the built-in fetch
  ```

  Prefer these over the all-in-one `polyfillGlobals()`, which also pulls in the native `react-native-get-random-values` and forces a development-client rebuild. Pin `web-streams-polyfill` to v3 — v4 removed the `ponyfill/es6` subpath `react-native-polyfill-globals` requires.
</Note>

## Related

* [useSearchContent](/hooks/search/use-search-content) — non-AI semantic search
* [Search & AI overview](/sdk/search/overview)