# Ask a question

> Ask in plain words and get the answer with the numbers and sources behind it. When a question needs a deeper look, Adea says what it costs before it starts.

Source: https://adea.app/docs/ask

Ask Adea anything about your business in the words you would use with a colleague. It answers from your own data, and shows where the answer came from.

## Where to ask

- **The ask field** at the top of every page.
- **The command menu.** Press ⌘K (Ctrl K on Windows) and type.
- **By voice.** Hold the microphone to talk, release to send.
- **From your AI assistant.** See [Use Adea from your AI assistant](/docs/ai-assistants).

## What you get back

- **The answer**, in plain words, with the number in front.
- **The sources.** You can open how it was worked out: which tables it read and the query behind the answer.
- **A way to carry on.** Ask a follow-up, save the question, or turn the answer into a [list](/docs/lists) of the people or records behind it.

Paste an order number, an email address or a booking number into the ask field, and Adea opens the story of that record: what happened to it, in order.

## Easy questions are free

Most questions cost nothing. A number Adea already watches, a record looked up by its number and a new question over your tables are free on every plan, within fair use.

A deep question or **Find out why** uses one Deep credit. The button shows the cost, and if Adea needs a deeper look than you asked for, it asks first.

A failed answer, or one Adea refuses, costs nothing. See [Credits and plans](/docs/plans-and-credits).

## Good questions

- "How many members did we have last Monday, and how does that compare with a month ago?"
- "Why did booking completion fall since Tuesday?"
- "Which customers have paid late three times this year?"

If you use a word of your own, say what you mean by it. Adea writes down what it learned about your data when it first read it, and you can correct it there. Every answer after a correction follows it.