Intelligent search for agents. Multi-source retrieval with confidence scoring - web, academic, and Tavily in one unified API

Intelligent search for agents. Multi-source retrieval with confidence scoring - web, academic, and Tavily in one unified API.

Security Scan

The skill's code and runtime instructions consistently implement a search client that calls the AIsa API using a single API key; nothing in the package requests unrelated credentials, installs, or performs unexpected local operations.

Purpose & Capability

The name/description, SKILL.md examples, and the included Python client all target the same external API (api.aisa.one) and require only an AISA_API_KEY; requested binaries (curl, python3) are appropriate for making HTTP requests and running the client.

Instruction Scope

Runtime instructions and the Python script only perform network calls to the described AIsa endpoints and read the AISA_API_KEY environment variable. There are no instructions to read unrelated files, scan local config, or exfiltrate system data.

Install Mechanism

No install spec is provided (instruction-only with a shipped client script). No remote downloads, archive extraction, or package installs are performed by the skill itself — risk from installation is minimal.

Credentials

Only a single credential (AISA_API_KEY) is required and used consistently by the SKILL.md examples and in the client code. No additional tokens, passwords, or unrelated environment values are requested.

Persistence & Privilege

The skill does not request always: true, does not write or modify other skills or system-wide settings, and only behaves as an outward-facing client using the provided API key.

Assessment

This skill is internally coherent: it needs one API key and makes network calls to the AIsa API, which is the expected behavior. Before installing, confirm you trust the AIsa service (api.aisa.one) and are comfortable sending queries/results to that provider. Use a scoped or limited API key if possible, avoid sending sensitive secrets or private data in queries, and monitor/rotate the key if you suspect misuse. Also verify the provider's privacy/retention policy and consider testing in a controlled environment first. If you need stronger assurance, ask the author for provenance (who maintains the skill and the service domains) and confirm the homepage/API domains are legitimate and expected.

OpenClaw Search 🔍

Intelligent search for autonomous agents. Powered by AIsa.

One API key. Multi-source retrieval. Confidence-scored answers.

Inspired by AIsa Verity - A next-generation search agent with trust-scored answers.

🔥 What Can You Do?

Research Assistant

"Search for the latest papers on transformer architectures from 2024-2025"

Market Research

"Find all web articles about AI startup funding in Q4 2025"

Competitive Analysis

"Search for reviews and comparisons of RAG frameworks"

News Aggregation

"Get the latest news about quantum computing breakthroughs"

Deep Dive Research

"Smart search combining web and academic sources on 'autonomous agents'"

Quick Start

export AISA_API_KEY="your-key"

---

🏗️ Architecture: Multi-Stage Orchestration

OpenClaw Search employs a Two-Phase Retrieval Strategy for comprehensive results:

Phase 1: Discovery (Parallel Retrieval)

Query 4 distinct search streams simultaneously:

• Scholar: Deep academic retrieval
• Web: Structured web search
• Smart: Intelligent mixed-mode search
• Tavily: External validation signal

Phase 2: Reasoning (Meta-Analysis)

Use AIsa Explain to perform meta-analysis on search results, generating:

• Confidence scores (0-100)
• Source agreement analysis
• Synthesized answers

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                      User Query                              │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                              │
              ┌───────────────┼───────────────┐
              ▼               ▼               ▼
        ┌─────────┐     ┌─────────┐     ┌─────────┐
        │ Scholar │     │   Web   │     │  Smart  │
        └─────────┘     └─────────┘     └─────────┘
              │               │               │
              └───────────────┼───────────────┘
                              ▼
                    ┌─────────────────┐
                    │  AIsa Explain   │
                    │ (Meta-Analysis) │
                    └─────────────────┘
                              │
                              ▼
                    ┌─────────────────┐
                    │ Confidence Score│
                    │  + Synthesis    │
                    └─────────────────┘

---

Core Capabilities

Web Search

# Basic web search
curl -X POST "https://api.aisa.one/apis/v1/scholar/search/web?query=AI+frameworks&max_num_results=10" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $AISA_API_KEY"

# Full text search (with page content)
curl -X POST "https://api.aisa.one/apis/v1/search/full?query=latest+AI+news&max_num_results=10" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $AISA_API_KEY"

Academic/Scholar Search

# Search academic papers
curl -X POST "https://api.aisa.one/apis/v1/scholar/search/scholar?query=transformer+models&max_num_results=10" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $AISA_API_KEY"

# With year filter
curl -X POST "https://api.aisa.one/apis/v1/scholar/search/scholar?query=LLM&max_num_results=10&as_ylo=2024&as_yhi=2025" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $AISA_API_KEY"

Smart Search (Web + Academic Combined)

# Intelligent hybrid search
curl -X POST "https://api.aisa.one/apis/v1/scholar/search/smart?query=machine+learning+optimization&max_num_results=10" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $AISA_API_KEY"

Tavily Integration (Advanced)

# Tavily search
curl -X POST "https://api.aisa.one/apis/v1/tavily/search" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $AISA_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"query":"latest AI developments"}'

# Extract content from URLs
curl -X POST "https://api.aisa.one/apis/v1/tavily/extract" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $AISA_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"urls":["https://example.com/article"]}'

# Crawl web pages
curl -X POST "https://api.aisa.one/apis/v1/tavily/crawl" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $AISA_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"url":"https://example.com","max_depth":2}'

# Site map
curl -X POST "https://api.aisa.one/apis/v1/tavily/map" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $AISA_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"url":"https://example.com"}'

Explain Search Results (Meta-Analysis)

# Generate explanations with confidence scoring
curl -X POST "https://api.aisa.one/apis/v1/scholar/explain" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $AISA_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"results":[...],"language":"en","format":"summary"}'

---

📊 Confidence Scoring Engine

Unlike standard RAG systems, OpenClaw Search evaluates credibility and consensus:

Scoring Rubric

Factor	Weight	Description
Source Quality	40%	Academic > Smart/Web > External
Agreement Analysis	35%	Cross-source consensus checking
Recency	15%	Newer sources weighted higher
Relevance	10%	Query-result semantic match

Score Interpretation

Score	Confidence Level	Meaning
90-100	Very High	Strong consensus across academic and web sources
70-89	High	Good agreement, reliable sources
50-69	Medium	Mixed signals, verify independently
30-49	Low	Conflicting sources, use caution
0-29	Very Low	Insufficient or contradictory data

---

Python Client

# Web search
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/search_client.py web --query "latest AI news" --count 10

# Academic search
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/search_client.py scholar --query "transformer architecture" --count 10
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/search_client.py scholar --query "LLM" --year-from 2024 --year-to 2025

# Smart search (web + academic)
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/search_client.py smart --query "autonomous agents" --count 10

# Full text search
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/search_client.py full --query "AI startup funding"

# Tavily operations
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/search_client.py tavily-search --query "AI developments"
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/search_client.py tavily-extract --urls "https://example.com/article"

# Multi-source search with confidence scoring
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/search_client.py verity --query "Is quantum computing ready for enterprise?"

---

API Endpoints Reference

Endpoint	Method	Description
/scholar/search/web	POST	Web search with structured results
/scholar/search/scholar	POST	Academic paper search
/scholar/search/smart	POST	Intelligent hybrid search
/scholar/explain	POST	Generate result explanations
/search/full	POST	Full text search with content
/search/smart	POST	Smart web search
/tavily/search	POST	Tavily search integration
/tavily/extract	POST	Extract content from URLs
/tavily/crawl	POST	Crawl web pages
/tavily/map	POST	Generate site maps

---

Search Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description
query	string	Search query (required)
max_num_results	integer	Max results (1-100, default 10)
as_ylo	integer	Year lower bound (scholar only)
as_yhi	integer	Year upper bound (scholar only)

---

🚀 Building a Verity-Style Agent

Want to build your own confidence-scored search agent? Here's the pattern:

1. Parallel Discovery

import asyncio

async def discover(query):
    """Phase 1: Parallel retrieval from multiple sources."""
    tasks = [
        search_scholar(query),
        search_web(query),
        search_smart(query),
        search_tavily(query)
    ]
    results = await asyncio.gather(*tasks)
    return {
        "scholar": results[0],
        "web": results[1],
        "smart": results[2],
        "tavily": results[3]
    }

2. Confidence Scoring

def score_confidence(results):
    """Calculate deterministic confidence score."""
    score = 0
    
    # Source quality (40%)
    if results["scholar"]:
        score += 40 * len(results["scholar"]) / 10
    
    # Agreement analysis (35%)
    claims = extract_claims(results)
    agreement = analyze_agreement(claims)
    score += 35 * agreement
    
    # Recency (15%)
    recency = calculate_recency(results)
    score += 15 * recency
    
    # Relevance (10%)
    relevance = calculate_relevance(results, query)
    score += 10 * relevance
    
    return min(100, score)

3. Synthesis

async def synthesize(query, results, score):
    """Generate final answer with citations."""
    explanation = await explain_results(results)
    return {
        "answer": explanation["summary"],
        "confidence": score,
        "sources": explanation["citations"],
        "claims": explanation["claims"]
    }

For a complete implementation, see AIsa Verity.

---

Pricing

API	Cost
Web search	~$0.001
Scholar search	~$0.002
Smart search	~$0.002
Tavily search	~$0.002
Explain	~$0.003

Every response includes usage.cost and usage.credits_remaining.

---

Get Started

1. Sign up at aisa.one
2. Get your API key
3. Add credits (pay-as-you-go)
4. Set environment variable: export AISA_API_KEY="your-key"

Full API Reference

See API Reference for complete endpoint documentation.

Resources

• AIsa Verity - Reference implementation of confidence-scored search agent
• AIsa Documentation - Complete API documentation