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Giraffe Chat AI (Private Beta)

Ask me anything — Giraffe AI Chat can search the web, analyze your project, and create geometry on the map!

Written by Holly Conrad Smith

Artificial Intelligence + Giraffe = a match made in tech heaven. Connect with Claude right in your Giraffe window.

Why Giraffe AI?

AI has collapsed the cost of building custom tools. The best analysts and development managers are already:

  • Automating repetitive workflows

  • Encoding institutional logic

  • Building internal apps

  • Extending feasibility models

  • Generating scenarios in minutes

That's a competitive advantage — if it sits on solid infrastructure.

A general-purpose LLM doesn't understand your zoning envelopes, setback logic, feasibility thresholds, or site geometry. It needs a governed, structured backend.

That backend is Giraffe.

The world of consultants, pdfs and disconnected workflows is over. The future of real estate development is well orchestrated APIs and AI agents.

Giraffe is the platform to organize them. Spatial, visual, and optimized for the built environment. It lets LLMs work safely, and beautifully.
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Add the App

Navigate to the appstore and add "Chat" .

Don't see Chat (Giraffe AI) in your account? Reach out to sales.

Click on the Chat app logo to initialize it.

Get Started

Set yourself up for success by configuring the app.

Settings

Click the Settings gear in the top right of the app.

Region

The region selection controls which Giraffe-authored skills are loaded.

Select a region:

  • US: imperial units (feet/acres) and Regrid parcels enabled. AU cadastre disabled.

  • AUS: AU national cadastre enabled. Regrid disabled. Units follow project setting.

  • International: neither parcel skill is loaded. Units follow project setting.

Credentials

Giraffe AI requires an AI API key.

Select Anthropic or/and Fireworks tokens.

You can choose manual entry from the dropdown to paste the token directly into the app.

OR

Your workspace administrator can share an AI Credential with the app. Once shared, you can select the credential from the dropdown.

Select the AI Model

Select an Anthropic model to use in your chats.

Remember, your personal AI plan will control the pricing for credit usage.

Regrid

Optionally, insert your Regrid API key as well to allow Giraffe AI to search for parcels using Regrid's dataset.

More Settings

Compact Conversation: When input tokens exceed this limit, older messages are summarised to keep responses fast.

Testing Mode: Shows a row of pre-canned test prompts above the chat input. Each button auto-sends a representative prompt for measuring tool / namespace activation behaviour. Dev only.

Skills

Add your own skills to train the Chat app on your org's workflows and data

Start Chatting!

Once your API keys and settings are configured, you can chat with Giraffe AI just like you would with any LLM. Ask about your market, find comps, search for parcels, and more! Once you identify a parcel for study, use Giraffe AI to analyze yield, identify zoning constraints and lot restrictions, and even run a simple proforma.

Type in the text box, then click "send."

You can also upload attachments, like text, pdfs, or images to give more context to your request. Click the Paper Clip icon to add an attachment.

Remember: Claude can make mistakes. Double check the results.

Start from scratch

Click "New Chat" in the top bar to wipe the existing chat and start fresh.

Status Bar + Quick Settings

  1. Auto-approve all actions -

  2. Show prompt inspector - view prompt performance

  3. SDK docs enabled - allows Chat to use the Giraffe SDK

  4. Web fetch enabled - allows Chat to search web

  5. Cache inspector - shows preview of current chat cache

  6. In status

  7. Out status

  8. Credit cost estimator

How the AI works

  1. Your message

  2. API Request

    1. system All active skills concatenated into one cached block

    2. tools 39 tool definitions — name, description, schema

    3. messages Conversation history

  3. LLM Decides

    1. Skills tell it when and why to act

    2. Tool descriptions tell it how

      → Text response shown to you

      → Tool calls executed by the app

  4. Tool Execution

    1. Read tools → auto-executed

    2. Mutation tools → you approve/reject

    3. Results sent back to LLM · Loop continues until done

Tools vs Skills

Tool

Skill

What

A function the AI can call

Markdown instructions in the system prompt

Gives the AI

Capability — "here is a function and its parameters"

Judgment — "when to use it, why, and what to watch out for"

Defined in

Code (tools.ts) — wrappers around Giraffe SDK RPC functions. If a tool isn't available in the core set, the AI can call any Giraffe SDK function directly via invoke_rpc / get_state, and look up docs first via fetch_docs.

Markdown (.md files) — editable in Settings. Create your own or modify the built-in core skills.

Togglable

No — all tools are always sent

Yes — toggle off to remove from prompt and save tokens

Example

updateUsages({ usages: {...} })

"Only call updateUsages when user says 'assumptions'. For buildings, use updateSections."

Active skills

Skills are instructions in the system prompt that teach the AI when and why to use tools. Toggle them in Settings to control what the AI knows.

Skill

Description

Tokens

Core BehaviorLOCKED

Identity, workflows, conventions, response format. Always active.

~2,534

Layers

Layer operations: visibility, filtering, styling, organizing the layer tree.

~1,674

Sections

Building CRUD: find, create, update, delete sections. Routing rules for updateSections vs updateUsages.

~2,232

Summaries

Ad-hoc aggregation, charting, groupBy queries via findSections.

~352

Usage Types

Usage type definitions, dwelling patterns, hotel keys, property reference, delete usages.

~1,542

Content Library

Browse and import content packs and Lightning Bolt flows from the Giraffe library.

~1,105

Giraffe Analytics

Analytics measures/line items, categories, tabs, formulas. Create/delete/reorder reporting.

~2,540

GeoJSON Layers

Create map layers from GeoJSON data via createGeoJSONLayer RPC. Styling, 3D extrusion, labels.

~787

Total

8 skills active

~12,764

Available tools

Tools are functions the AI can call. It reads the tool name and description to decide which one to use. Skills provide the behavioral guidance for when and why.

Writing a skill

Skills are markdown instructions injected into the system prompt. Click "+ New" under User Skills to create one. A good skill has these parts:

## Skill Name  One sentence saying what this skill covers and when the AI should use it.  ### Suggested tools These tools should be used together for this workflow: 1. getLayers → see what's available 2. getLayerContents → inspect features 3. filterLayerFeatures → highlight matches  ### When to use - "user says X" → do Y - "user says Z" → do W  ### Rules - Always do A before B - Never do C without checking D  ### Examples ``` toolName({ param: "value" }) ```  ### Gotchas - Common mistake and how to avoid it

Key principles:

  • Be self-describing. Start with what the skill covers. The AI has no other way to know when to apply it.

  • Write "when/why", not "how". Tool parameter docs are already in the tool definitions. Skills should teach decision logic: "if the user says X, use tool Y because Z."

  • Use trigger phrases. List the exact words the user might say and map them to actions. This prevents the AI from guessing.

  • Include examples. Show the exact tool call with realistic parameters. The AI copies patterns.

  • Flag ambiguity. If a phrase could mean two things, tell the AI to ask the user to clarify.

  • Suggest tools. Add a "Suggested tools" section that lists the tools for a workflow in order. The AI will prefer these tools and follow the sequence. You can't add new tools, but you can tell the AI which existing ones to reach for and in what order.

  • Keep it short. Every token in a skill is sent on every message. Cut anything the AI doesn't need to make decisions.

Prompting tips

  • Be specific about what you want changed. "Make the office 10 levels" is better than "make it taller".

  • Say "assumptions" or "usage type" explicitly when you want to change project-wide defaults, not individual buildings.

  • Name places and the AI will web search for coordinates and fly there.

  • Ask for charts — "bar chart of cost by usage" works with findSections.

  • Toggle off unused skills in Settings to reduce token costs and keep the AI focused.

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