AI Glossary
What is Function Calling?
Overview
Function calling is a model capability where an AI system returns structured arguments for a developer-defined function or tool. It matters because it lets language models take reliable actions, query APIs, and produce machine-readable outputs instead of only generating prose.
Why it matters
Function calling is a practical bridge between natural-language reasoning and software systems that require structured actions.
Where it appears in AI research
- Agent frameworks
- API orchestration
- Structured output workflows
- Tool-use benchmarks
Related terms
Related DeepSignal articles
MAVEN: Improving Generalization in Agentic
MAVEN (Modular Agentic Verification and Execution Network) enhances reasoning in agentic tool-calling environments, improving GPT-OSS-120b accuracy from 48% to 71% on MAVEN-Bench without extra training. This lightweight framework also remains competitive against proprietary models at a cost ratio of 1/10, highlighting its potential for better compositional reasoning.