.AIForms, chat, web services and tools
The built-in ways an APIANT automation faces a person or a program directly - hosted forms, chat widgets, web services, MCP tool automations and human approval links - and how to choose between them.
Most automations start from an event in another app. The built-in Forms, Chat, Web Service, AI Agent (tool automations) and Human Interaction (approvals) apps let an automation face a person or a program directly instead. Each one gives you a URL that APIANT hosts. Their own operations need no app connection; the one exception is the AI Agent message step a chat widget uses to reply, which runs on your own Anthropic or OpenAI connection.
Comparison
| Interface | Who uses it | Starts a run, or pauses one | Does the caller wait for a result | URL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hosted form | A person in a browser | Both: a form trigger starts a run, a form sent mid-run pauses it until submitted | The visitor sees a waiting page, then a confirmation or the next form | One stable URL per form trigger, or one per run |
| Chat widget | A visitor on a web page | Starts a run for every message | No. Replies arrive in the widget when the automation sends them | One URL per chat automation, plus an embed script |
| Web service | Any HTTP client, including JavaScript on a web page | Starts a run for every request | Yes. The caller receives the HTTP status and body the automation returns | One URL per web service automation |
| MCP tool automation | An MCP client such as Claude | Starts a run for every tool call | Yes. The client receives the tool output text | One URL per APIANT account, listing all tool automations |
| Human approval | An approver with no APIANT account | Pauses a run until the approver decides | Not applicable. The run resumes when the decision is made | One link per approval item |
Choosing an interface
- Collect structured input from a person: use a hosted form. Field types, validation and file uploads are handled by the form page.
- Ask a person to approve or deny something: use human approval. If the approver must also type details, use a form sent mid-run instead.
- Hold a conversation: use a chat widget. Add tool automations to let the AI agent in the chat look things up or take actions.
- Return data to another system in the same request: use a web service.
- Give an AI client a set of actions it can call: use MCP tool automations.
What every interface has in common
The automation must be on. Claude and the assistant build new automations turned off. An automation that is off does not serve its form page, chat widget, web service URL or tool list, and a run paused on an approval does not resume. Ask Claude to turn the automation on once you have tested it.
The URL is the access control. A form trigger, chat widget, web service or MCP tool URL carries long random identifiers, and anyone who has the URL can use it. There is no separate password or API key. Share each URL only with the people or systems that need it. The URL shapes are listed in Public URLs.
You get the URL from Claude or the assistant. When the automation is committed, Claude or the assistant returns the form, chat or web service URL. The MCP tool URL is the exception; see Automations as MCP tools.
Usage counts against your plan. Form submissions and web service calls each have their own monthly limit, and every run also counts tasks. See Plans, usage and billing.
Next steps
In this section
Hosted forms
How the Forms app hosts form pages for an automation, either starting a run on every submission or pausing a run until one person fills in a form, with the field types and limits.
Chat widgets
How a chat widget automation receives visitor messages, replies through an AI agent that runs on your own Anthropic or OpenAI connection, calls tool automations, and embeds on your website.
Web service automations
How a web service automation turns an APIANT automation into a synchronous HTTP endpoint that returns a status and body to the caller, including CORS, error responses and the absence of automatic retries.
Human approval
How the Human Interaction app pauses an APIANT automation until a person approves or denies an item from a moderation queue link, with timeouts, custom button labels and the rules for placing the wait.