> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.nimbleway.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Choosing the Right Tool

> Search, Extract, Extract Template, or Web Search Agent: pick the cheapest tool that fits before spending a run

A Web Search Agent is the right tool when the answer is scattered across pages nobody has listed yet. It is the wrong tool for a page you already have, a fact one search returns, or a site that already has an Extract Template. Picking wrong costs minutes and dollars where seconds and cents would do.

## Decision tree

**1. Do you already know the URL?**

**One page**: use [Extract](https://docs.nimbleway.com/nimble-sdk/web-tools/extract/quickstart.md). It reads the page deterministically in seconds.

**A site with an [Extract Template](https://docs.nimbleway.com/nimble-sdk/agentic/agent-gallery.md)** (Amazon, Google Maps, TikTok and hundreds more): run the template. It returns the site's fields already structured.

**Many pages on one site**: use [Map](https://docs.nimbleway.com/nimble-sdk/web-tools/map.md) to list them, then Extract each, or [Crawl](https://docs.nimbleway.com/nimble-sdk/web-tools/crawl.md).

**2. No URL. Is it one closed fact?**

"Who is the CEO of Acme", "when did X launch", "what is Y's HQ city": use [Search](https://docs.nimbleway.com/nimble-sdk/web-tools/search.md) with `include_answer`. One call, one sentence, a source.

**3. No URL, and you want a table, a filled record, or a brief**

This is a Web Search Agent task. Pick the use case:

* Rows you already have that need more columns: [Enrichment](https://docs.nimbleway.com/nimble-sdk/web-search-agents/use-cases/enrichment.md)
* A list of entities that match criteria: [Dataset Building](https://docs.nimbleway.com/nimble-sdk/web-search-agents/use-cases/dataset-building.md)
* A sourced answer to an open question: [Research](https://docs.nimbleway.com/nimble-sdk/web-search-agents/use-cases/research.md)

## Side by side

| | Search | Extract | Extract Template | Web Search Agent |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| You have | A question | A URL | A URL or ID on a supported site | A task, and optionally rows |
| You get | Ranked results, optional one-line answer | One page as markdown, JSON or HTML | The site's fields, structured | A table, a completed record, or a cited brief |
| Latency | Seconds | Seconds | Seconds | Minutes: 1 to 3 at `medium`, 5 to 15 at `high` |
| Price | Per request | Per page | Per run | Per run by [effort](https://docs.nimbleway.com/nimble-sdk/web-search-agents/efforts.md): $0.10 to $2.00 |
| Best for | Lookups, monitoring, RAG grounding | Known pages | Known sites at scale | Discovery, multi-source synthesis, verification |

## Real asks, routed

| Ask | Use | Why |
| - | - | - |
| "Extract price and stock from this product URL" | Extract, or the site's Extract Template | Known page. An agent would search for what you already have |
| "Find the HQ city of these 50 companies" | Search with `include_answer`, one call per company | One closed fact each. A `low` agent run costs more and returns less |
| "List every dentist in Austin with rating and phone" | Google Maps Extract Template | The site is known and templated. An agent took 20 minutes for 10 rows on the same ask; the template returns 20 in seconds |
| "Which of these 200 vendors publish a pricing page, and what is the entry price?" | Web Search Agent, enrichment | A judgment per row from an unknown page on each vendor's site |
| "Find Series A+ AI infrastructure startups in Europe funded since 2024" | Web Search Agent, dataset building | Nobody has published this list. It has to be assembled from many sources |
| "Due-diligence brief on a private company" | Web Search Agent, research | Synthesis across filings, press and the company's own site |
| "Get every product in this manufacturer's catalog" | Map + Extract, or an agent scoped to one section at a time | A whole catalog in one run truncates. See [Running at Scale](https://docs.nimbleway.com/nimble-sdk/web-search-agents/best-practices/running-at-scale.md) |
| "Pull posts from this Instagram profile" | Extract Template if one exists for the site | Login-walled social sites are not readable by an agent. See [Controlling Sources](https://docs.nimbleway.com/nimble-sdk/web-search-agents/best-practices/sources.md) |

> [!TIP]
>
> When in doubt, start with Search. If the first results contain the answer, you are done. If they only point at where the answer might be, that is what an agent is for.

## Next Steps

> **[Enrichment](https://docs.nimbleway.com/nimble-sdk/web-search-agents/use-cases/enrichment.md)**
>
> Complete the rows you already have

> **[Dataset Building](https://docs.nimbleway.com/nimble-sdk/web-search-agents/use-cases/dataset-building.md)**
>
> Build a list from criteria

> **[Research](https://docs.nimbleway.com/nimble-sdk/web-search-agents/use-cases/research.md)**
>
> Get a cited brief


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