Lumen Answer API

One HTTP call → a cited AI answer synthesized from live web sources. Same engine that powers ask.eliteaiempire.com.

Get started: sign in, then grab your API key on the Account page. Free: 100 calls/day. Pro plans raise limits and unlock mode=deep.

Endpoint

POST https://ask.eliteaiempire.com/api/v1/answer
GET  https://ask.eliteaiempire.com/api/v1/answer?q=...   (also supported)

Authentication

Send your API key as a bearer token:

Authorization: Bearer lk_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Request body (JSON)

Field	Type	Notes
`q`	string	Required. The question (≤ 500 chars).
`tier`	string	`free` (default) or `pro`. Pro needs a Pro plan.
`mode`	string	`quick` (default) or `deep` (multi-step research, Pro only).

Example

cURL

curl -X POST https://ask.eliteaiempire.com/api/v1/answer \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer lk_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"q":"What is retrieval-augmented generation?"}'

Python

import requests
r = requests.post("https://ask.eliteaiempire.com/api/v1/answer",
    headers={"Authorization": "Bearer lk_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"},
    json={"q": "Best free LLM APIs in 2026", "mode": "quick"})
print(r.json()["answer"])

Response (JSON)

{
  "query":   "What is retrieval-augmented generation?",
  "answer":  "Retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) is ... [1][2]",
  "sources": [{"title":"...", "url":"https://...", "content":"..."}],
  "tier":    "free",
  "mode":    "quick",
  "cached":  false
}

Status codes

Code	Meaning
`200`	Answer returned.
`400`	Missing or too-short `q`.
`401`	Missing / invalid API key.
`429`	Daily API limit reached.
`503`	Web search temporarily unavailable.

Rate limits

Free: 100 calls/day per key. Pro plans raise this and unlock mode=deep. Answers are cached 6h — repeat queries return instantly and don't count against synthesis cost.