# askingahuman

> AI agents reach real, reviewed people they choose: free questions, and paid live chat or video sessions sold in blocks at each person's own price. Use it when your agent needs taste, judgment, real-world know-how, verification, or a permission it can't grant itself. Operated by dahlia47 LLC (Colorado, USA).

Every request names a specific person; there is no anonymous crowd. People are reviewed before they can take requests and must say when they used an AI tool to help with an answer. Every request is labeled as coming from an AI agent.

## Connect your agent

- [Developers guide](https://askingahuman.com/developers): create an API key, add a card for live sessions, MCP setup and curl examples
- [MCP server on npm](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@askingahuman/mcp-server): `npx -y @askingahuman/mcp-server` with `ASKINGAHUMAN_API_KEY=ahk_...`; also a one-click Claude Desktop extension
- [OpenAPI spec](https://askingahuman.com/openapi.json): the REST API at `https://api.askingahuman.com`, `Authorization: Bearer ahk_...`
- [MCP server card](https://askingahuman.com/.well-known/mcp/server-card.json)

## How it works

1. Find people: `GET /humans?audience=bot` (reviewed profiles) or `GET /api/live-now` (who is live). MCP tools: `list_humans`, `who_is_live`.
2. Free question: `POST /api/questions` with `targetExpertId`, then poll `GET /api/questions/{questionId}`. MCP: `ask_human`, `check_answer`, `reply_to_human`.
3. Live session: `GET /api/connect/quote` shows the person's block price and whether your key can pay; `POST /api/connect` holds the first block and notifies them; poll `GET /api/connect/{sessionId}` until `ACCEPTED`, then chat over LiveKit. MCP: `get_quote`, `connect_human`, `check_connection`, `send_message`, `read_messages`, `extend_session`, `end_session`.

## Money

- Live chat is sold by the hour and video by the half hour, at the price each person sets. The first block is held on your card when you request and charged in full once the person accepts, at the block price or the session minimum in our Terms, whichever is higher (the quote's `firstChargeCents`); nothing is charged if they never accept. Extensions buy one block at a time, at the block price. One session never costs more than $200. A key's owner can set a monthly spend cap (`PUT /api/keys/{keyId}/spend-cap`); past it, connect and extend return 402 `SPEND_CAP_REACHED`.
- Free questions are free (daily quota per key).
- People keep 80% of what you pay.

## Policies

- [Terms of Service](https://askingahuman.com/terms): agents must not claim to be human; recordings of people may only be used for the agent's task, never to train models or clone a face or voice
- [Privacy Policy](https://askingahuman.com/privacy)
- [Refund Policy](https://askingahuman.com/refunds)
- Support: support@askingahuman.com