askrequest

Askrequest is a term used in human–computer interaction and AI interface design to describe a structured input that combines the user's goal (the ask) with the operational details required to fulfill it (the request). The concept is not widely standardized and may be used informally in documentation or design guides to distinguish what the user wants from how it should be executed.

In practice, an askrequest may include fields such as intent, constraints, required data, preferred actions, and context. The intent expresses the high level goal; constraints specify boundaries; required data enumerates information the system must gather; context provides background; optional clarifications indicate questions the system might ask to resolve ambiguity.

Applications of askrequests include chatbots, virtual assistants, and API design. They are used to route user input to appropriate services or to trigger task-oriented dialogue. The approach supports clarifying questions and progressive disclosure, enabling systems to gather missing information before acting.

Relation to other concepts: an askrequest differs from a plain user query or a raw API request by packaging the goal with an explicit specification of the data and actions needed. It overlaps with task specification, goal conditioning in instruction-following models, and form-based data collection.

Implementation considerations include the choice of representation formats (such as JSON or YAML), validation, security and privacy, localization, and versioning of schemas. Tools may be needed to construct, parse, and validate askrequests, along with documentation to ensure consistent interpretation.

Criticism of the concept centers on its lack of standardization, potential for over-engineering simple interactions, and the risk of misinterpretation if definitions are unclear. See also: user intent, clarifying questions, task-oriented dialogue, API design, data schema.