Enterprise AI Glossary · Reviewed June 2026
Tool Use / Function Calling
The mechanism by which an AI model requests execution of an external function — an API call, database query, or code execution.
What is Tool Use / Function Calling?
Tool use (also called function calling) is what turns a text generator into an agent. The model outputs a structured request (tool name + arguments), the runtime executes it, and the result is fed back. Enterprise tool use adds permission checks, rate limits, and audit logging around each invocation. See Tool Use & Function Calling and Tool Calling Patterns.
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