PRODUCTION SCENARIO
A support assistant built on Gemini must answer "where is my order?" from the company's live order-tracking system, and file a return request when a customer asks for one.
Which mechanism lets it do both?
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Show answer and explanation
Answer: Function calling, where the model emits structured calls the application runs
Function calling gives the model definitions of external tools; it decides when one is needed, emits structured data naming the tool and its parameters, and the application runs it and returns the result. Google names its two uses as fetching current data and taking action. Search grounding reaches public web content, tuning adapts behaviour from a frozen snapshot, and a bigger prompt window still leaves the model unable to act.