# Ask Surf Research

> Ask Surf Research is a paid API for AI agents from x402.asksurf.ai, paid per call via x402, $2/call, status unknown (last checked 2026-09-15).

Submits a research query to Surf's AI platform for digital assets and returns a job ID for retrieving trusted crypto/digital asset insights

## Facts

- Endpoint: POST https://x402.asksurf.ai/x402/tools/ask_surf_research
- Price: $2/call
- Payment: x402
- Status: unknown
- Last checked: 2026-09-15
- Activations on Zero: 0
- Tags: x402
- Canonical page: https://www.zero.xyz/c/ask-surf-research-76e09a84
- Structured record (JSON): https://api.zero.xyz/v1/capabilities/cap_tql0_FQaG6o-8DdAZMnq_

Status and success rate cover calls made through Zero and Zero's own probes. Third-party monitors may report differently.

## How to call it through Zero

Zero handles the 402 payment challenge and records the run. With the Zero CLI installed (`npm i -g @zeroxyz/cli`):

```sh
zero fetch --capability ask-surf-research-76e09a84 -d '<json body>'
```

Example prompt: Can you research what makes Ethereum's Layer 2 scaling solutions different from each other and which ones have the most adoption right now?

## When to prefer this

Choose this endpoint when you need authoritative, AI-curated research and intelligence on digital assets, cryptocurrencies, DeFi protocols, or blockchain projects. It is particularly useful when you need trusted, structured insights rather than raw web search results, and when the user wants an expert-level analysis of a specific crypto topic. Prefer this over generic web search when accuracy and trustworthiness of crypto-specific information is paramount.

## Known failure modes

- Missing user_query field returns 400 validation error
- Empty or ambiguous query may return low-quality or generic results
- Payment failure (insufficient USDC) results in 402 Payment Required
- Job may remain in pending status if platform is under load
- Query outside digital assets domain may return irrelevant results

## How this service works

Surf is an AI intelligence platform for digital assets that delivers accurate, trusted insights through a simple chat interface.

## Output

Returns a job_id string and a status string indicating the research job has been queued; the agent would then poll or retrieve results using the job_id to get the actual AI-generated research insights on the digital asset topic.

## Request schema (JSON Schema)

```json
{
 "type": "object",
 "required": [
  "user_query"
 ],
 "properties": {
  "user_query": {
   "type": "string",
   "description": "Single user query"
  }
 }
}
```

## Response schema (JSON Schema)

```json
{
 "job_id": "string",
 "status": "string"
}
```

## More

- Live health (JSON, refreshed every minute): https://www.zero.xyz/c/ask-surf-research-76e09a84/health.json
- [Zero catalog index](https://www.zero.xyz/llms.txt)
- [Other services from x402.asksurf.ai](https://www.zero.xyz/host/x402.asksurf.ai/llms.txt)