# Send a request with an AI agent

Ask a connected agent to send a formbase request to one person, prefill and lock what you already know, and read the answers back when they are done.

## Send a request with an AI agent

A request asks one named recipient to complete a form. This guide has an agent send one with the company name filled in and locked, then read the answers once the recipient submits.

<p>
  You need an AI tool with <a href="/guides/ai-agents/connect">formbase connected</a> and a published form. This guide uses the one built in{' '}
  <a href="/guides/ai-agents/build-a-form">Build a form with an AI agent</a>. What a request is, and every option it takes, is in{' '}
  <a href="/requests/creating-requests">Creating requests</a>.
</p>

<h2 id="send">1. Ask for the request</h2>

<p>Say which form, who it goes to, what you already know, and how the link reaches them:</p>

```
Send a formbase request with the "[Guide] Supplier onboarding" form to Ada Lovelace (ada@acme.example). Fill in the company name "Analytical Engines Ltd" and lock it so she cannot change it. Use supplier-2041 as the external ID. Don't email her; give me the link and I will send it myself.
```

<p>
  The agent finds the form, reads its <a href="/requests/field-keys">field keys</a>, and creates the request. It replies with the link for
  the recipient and when the request expires.
</p>

<ul>
  <li>
    <strong>Fill in and lock.</strong> A filled-in answer is <a href="/requests/creating-requests#prefill">prefilled</a>; a locked one is
    shown but <a href="/requests/creating-requests#locked-fields">cannot be changed</a>.
  </li>
  <li>
    <strong>External ID</strong> is your own id for this piece of work, like a supplier or deal number. You can refer to the request by it
    later, also in a new conversation, instead of by formbase's request ID.
  </li>
  <li>
    <strong>Email or link.</strong> Ask the agent to email the recipient and formbase sends the
    <a href="/requests/invitations-and-reminders">invitation and reminders</a>; that needs a Pro or Business plan. Otherwise you get the
    link and send it yourself. If the form has <strong>Send reminders</strong> on, formbase still emails the recipient its scheduled
    reminders; to prevent that, also say <em>no reminders</em>.
  </li>
</ul>

> ℹ️ **Try it with a test request first**
> <p>
>     Say <em>send a test request</em> while you try this out. A <a href="/requests/creating-requests#test-mode">test request</a> never emails
>     anyone and counts nowhere, so open the link yourself. The Requests page lists it only with the <strong>Show test requests</strong>
>     filter on. To look it up by external ID, tell the agent it is a test request. A test request cannot be reminded.
>   </p>

<h2 id="recipient">2. The recipient completes the form</h2>

<p>The recipient opens the link and finds the company name filled in and locked:</p>

<p>
  The request shows in formbase under <strong>Requests</strong>, pending until the recipient submits and completed after:
</p>

<h2 id="answers">3. Read the answers</h2>

<p>The agent is not told when the recipient submits. Ask it, in the same conversation or a new one:</p>

```
Has the formbase request supplier-2041 been answered? Show me the answers.
```

<p>
  The agent looks the request up by its external ID and, once it is completed, lists each answer. A file answer comes with a download link.
  If the form has a <a href="/requests/decisions-and-approvals">decision question</a>, the reply also says whether the recipient approved,
  declined or asked for changes.
</p>

<p>
  To act on answers without asking, have a workflow receive a <a href="/requests/callbacks">callback</a> when the request finishes, or start
  one from <a href="/guides/zapier/request-outcome">Zapier</a>.
</p>

<h2 id="remind-or-cancel">Remind or cancel</h2>

<p>
  While a request is pending, ask the agent to <em>remind Ada about supplier-2041</em> to send a reminder email now, or to <em>cancel</em>{' '}
  it. Reminders need the recipient's email and a Pro or Business plan. A request gets at most eight reminders, scheduled and manual
  together, and manual ones at least ten minutes apart; see{' '}
  <a href="/requests/invitations-and-reminders">Invitations, reminders & expiry</a>. Canceling is permanent: the link stops working at once,
  and most AI tools ask you to confirm first.
</p>

<h2 id="next">Next</h2>

<div class="not-prose grid gap-3 sm:grid-cols-2 mb-8">
  - [The Requests page](/requests/managing-requests) — The Requests page: filters, one request in detail, and what you can do with it.
  - [MCP server reference](/developers/mcp-server) — Every request tool an agent can call, and the limits.
</div>