Tool use lets a model call defined external operations and incorporate the results. Common tools include document search, database queries, calculation, and code execution.
The model decides when to use a tool based on the task and the tool descriptions available to it.
Alternative Names:
Tool Calling, Model Tool Use
Why it Matters?
Tool use is what allows a system to look something up rather than recall it, which addresses the fundamental reliability problem with generated content. A model calculating damages with a calculator tool produces arithmetic that can be checked; one computing in text produces numbers that look right and sometimes are not. For legal work the available tool set defines both the capability and the risk surface, which makes it the first thing to examine in an agentic product.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
Why does tool use improve reliability?
What should buyers examine?
