# Let readers ask questions about your shared document > How 'Ask this artifact' lets readers ask questions answered from the document's own content, what the owner sees and what it costs. Updated 2026-10-24. By Vela Partners. https://artifactsend.com/guides/let-readers-ask-questions ## The short answer With 'Ask this artifact', readers ask questions about your shared document in plain words. Answers come only from the artifact's own content, and you see every question asked. The free plan includes 50 reader answers a month. Each extra answer costs $0.02. ## Why let readers ask Long documents hide answers. A reader may want one fact: the price for 20 seats, the launch date or the churn rate. They may not find it, and they may not email you to ask. When the reader can ask the document, they get the answer in seconds. You learn what they wanted to know. Questions are often a stronger signal than time on page. ## What the answers come from Answers come from the text of the artifact you shared. The assistant does not search the web. It does not read your other files. Sometimes the artifact does not contain the answer. Then the reader gets the reply 'The document does not say.' This keeps answers true to what you wrote. Answers are short: one to three sentences, in the reader's language. ## Example questions and answers Imagine a sales proposal. It lists a price of $40 per seat per month and a start date of 1 December. - Reader asks: 'What is the price per seat?' Answer: the proposal lists $40 per seat per month. - Reader asks: 'When can we start?' Answer: the proposal gives a start date of 1 December. - Reader asks: 'Do you support single sign-on?' Answer: 'The document does not say.' ## What the owner sees Read the unanswered questions each week. Each one is a gap in your document. Add the answer, then push the new version to the same link. - Every question, with the reader's email when you use an email-based door. - The answer that the reader got. - The time of the question. - Questions the document could not answer. ## Good uses - Pitch deck: investors ask about metrics or the team. - Sales proposal: buyers ask about terms, scope and security. - Product spec: engineers ask about edge cases. - Policy or handbook: staff ask about a single rule. - Investor update: investors ask for detail on a number. ## Check it before you send 'Ask this artifact' is on by default for new links. You can turn it off in the link settings. 1. Open the link as a test reader. 2. Ask a question that the document answers, and check the answer. 3. Ask a question that the document does not answer, and check the reply. 4. Fix any fact that the answer got wrong, because the document itself was unclear. 5. Send the link. ## Cost Every space gets 50 reader answers a month for free. After that, each answer costs $0.02. For example, 300 answers in a month cost $5 for the 250 answers above the free amount. There are no seats. ## Act on questions 1. Answer the reader directly when the question shows buying intent. 2. Add missing facts to the document. 3. Move often-asked facts higher in the document. 4. Push the update. The link stays the same. ## Privacy Only you and the members of your space see the questions in the report. The assistant gets only the artifact text and the one question. It does not get the reader's email or other activity. Tell readers that you can see their questions. A short line near the question box is enough. Do not invite readers to type private data into the question box. ## Limits The assistant can only be as good as the document. If the document is vague, the answers are vague. Keep facts clear and put numbers in text, not only in images. Text inside an image may not be read. ## Questions **Does the AI make up answers?** Answers come from the artifact's own content. If the artifact does not cover a question, the reader is told so. **Can I see what readers asked?** Yes. The owner sees every question asked, and the answer given. **How much does it cost?** 50 reader answers a month are free. Each extra answer costs $0.02.