# What is MAIA?

MAIA is a geospatial research engine. You define a research objective in plain language, MAIA's agent builds a spatial database to answer it, and every researched value in that database names its source.

Updated: 2026-09-30. Source: https://maia-analytics.com/docs/quickstart/what-is-maia

## What MAIA does

Most questions about the physical world are "where" questions with conditions attached. Which roofs are large enough, owned by the right kind of company, and eligible for an incentive. Which parcels are zoned for the use, sized for the deal, and held by someone who might sell.

You ask one of them in plain language.

> **You ask:** Find large, single-tenant commercial buildings in Maricopa County with solar-ready roofs, verified ESG obligations, and available incentives

MAIA's agent searches its data and researches what the data does not hold. The result is a project: layers on a map, rows in a table, and a written answer. Every researched value carries its reasoning and its sources, so you can check it.

![A finished MAIA project. The chat on the left holds the written answer and the skill that ran. The map shows Maricopa County with the satellite basemap, and the table below lists the ten sites with their owners, roof areas, and companies.](https://maia-analytics.com/product-shots/docs/project-finished@2x.png)

A finished run: the answer in the chat, the layer on the map, and the same rows in the table.

The database is the product. The answer is a summary of it, and the database is the proof.

![A table cell reading Excellent under the column Roof Solar Readiness, with its reasoning panel open below it. The panel reads Roof Solar Readiness = Excellent, then Reasoning: the building shows a very large, predominantly flat and contiguous white roof with broad unobstructed sections, only limited rooftop equipment and small vents, and no obvious solar panels, heavy shading, unusual geometry, or severe deterioration.](https://maia-analytics.com/product-shots/docs/reasoning-satellite@2x.png)

One researched cell, opened. The value is in the cell, and the reasoning is in the panel.

## How you work with it

Working with MAIA takes four steps. They are the same whether you use the web app or drive MAIA from an AI assistant such as Claude or ChatGPT.

| Step | What you do | Read more |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Define | State the research objective | [Define](https://maia-analytics.com/docs/using-maia/define) |
| Dispatch | Hand it to the agent, and answer what it asks | [Dispatch](https://maia-analytics.com/docs/using-maia/dispatch) |
| Review | Check the answer against the database behind it | [Review](https://maia-analytics.com/docs/using-maia/review) |
| Compound | Save the method and run it again | [Compound](https://maia-analytics.com/docs/using-maia/compound) |

Three things to know before your first run:

- **A project covers one county.** You choose it first. For a second county, start a second project.
- **Research spends credits.** Records are queried for nothing extra. Research on rows spends from your workspace's credits, and MAIA asks before a large run. See [Credits](https://maia-analytics.com/docs/billing/credits).
- **The people behind an owner are an enrichment.** MAIA finds them when you ask. See [Contacts](https://maia-analytics.com/docs/enrichments/contacts).

## What it is made of

MAIA has four parts: agents that do the work, data they can read, context they remember, and the workspace where the work lives. What the agents find that no dataset holds is an enrichment. Each part has its own page, starting at [Capabilities](https://maia-analytics.com/docs/capabilities/overview).

## Two ways in

| Where | How you reach it | Best for |
| --- | --- | --- |
| The web app | Sign in at [app.maia-analytics.com](https://app.maia-analytics.com) | Working on the map and in the table |
| The MCP connector | Add MAIA to Claude, ChatGPT, or another MCP client | Driving MAIA from the AI assistant you already use |

Both reach the same agent, the same data, and the same projects. The connector is turned on per workspace. See [Connect](https://maia-analytics.com/docs/mcp/connect).

## When MAIA fits

Use MAIA when:

- Your question covers many parcels or buildings across a county.
- The answer depends on several conditions holding together.
- Part of the answer is in no database and has to be researched.
- You need to know who owns a place and how to reach them.
- You will ask the same question again in the next county.

Look elsewhere when:

- You have one known address and one known question.
- You need turn-by-turn directions or live traffic. MAIA computes drive, walk, and bike times, and it assumes free-flowing roads.
- You need a finished report or a chart. MAIA produces maps, tables, and spreadsheets.
- You need a decision about a person's credit, insurance, employment, tenant screening, or housing eligibility. MAIA declines those uses. See [Restricted uses](https://maia-analytics.com/docs/reference/restricted-uses).

## Next

Follow one run from start to finish in [Your first run](https://maia-analytics.com/docs/quickstart/first-run).