Just Ask: query your library in plain English

Traditional search returns a list of matches. You still read each one to find the answer. Just Ask skips that step: ask a question in plain English, and CapturedIt searches your library, reads the relevant items, and synthesizes a response — with links back to sources.

Search vs Just Ask

Example queries that work well

• “What have I saved about competitor pricing?”
• “Summarize my notes from last week's user interviews”
• “Which articles discuss MCP integration?”
• “What did I capture about the Q2 roadmap?”

Just Ask works across all capture types — links, notes, screenshots (via OCR text), files, and voice memos (via transcription).

When to use search instead

• You remember the exact title or a unique phrase
• You want to browse all matches, not a single answer
• You are on Starter and want to avoid AI credit usage
• The question is better served by scanning a timeline (recent captures)

How answers stay grounded

Just Ask retrieves relevant items from your library before generating a response. Answers include citations to the source captures so you can verify or dig deeper. If nothing relevant exists, it says so — it does not invent content from your library.

Private items are excluded from Just Ask, same as search and API access.

Plan requirements

Library-wide Just Ask requires Pro or Vault. Starter includes AI processing on individual items (summaries, categories) but not library-wide conversational queries. See pricing for current limits on AI questions per month.

For a deeper look at how search layers work together, read semantic search vs keyword search.