> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.chord.co/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.chord.co/analyze-with-ai/ai-chat/ai-chat-technical-overview.md).

# Ask Chord technical overview

## Ask Chord technical overview

This guide explains how Ask Chord works under the hood, from data connection through to generating answers. It's designed for both brand users and technical teams who want to understand what's happening at each step.

## How Ask Chord works

Ask Chord is a ground-up rebuild of the Classic Ask Chord experience. Rather than following a fixed pipeline, Ask Chord uses an LLM agent that reasons through your question and decides which tools to call, making it better suited for complex, multi-part questions.

**How it works**

1. You ask a question in Ask Chord.
2. An LLM agent receives your question along with access to a set of Ask Chord tools via Chord MCP, a Model Context Protocol server that exposes your schema, saved views, SQL pairs, instructions, and SQL execution as individual callable tools.
3. The agent chains these tools as needed: searching your schema, retrieving relevant context, and executing SQL against your warehouse.
4. Results stream back in real time as the agent composes its answer.

### Ask Chord at-a-glance

|                   | **Ask Chord**                                 |
| ----------------- | --------------------------------------------- |
| **Orchestration** | LLM agent that chains tools dynamically       |
| **Data access**   | Individual MCP tools via Chord MCP            |
| **Best for**      | Complex, multi-step, or exploratory questions |
| **Status**        | Generally available                           |

### Data privacy

Ask Chord does not store your data. We work with your schema only, meaning the structure and definitions of your data, not the records themselves. Your data never leaves your warehouse without your explicit configuration.

For more detail on data security, see the [Chord FAQ](/get-started/faq.md).


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# Agent Instructions
This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com.

## Querying This Documentation
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