Data & Research ⚡ Supported by aipp architecture

Paid Document & RAG Query

Monetize queries against private document collections, RAG pipelines, and Vector DBs.

Target Audience: RAG developers, vector database operators, knowledge base authors, and technical researchers.

The Real Problem

Exposing a private document collection or Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) system incurs embedding, vector search, and LLM synthesis costs per question. Offering RAG queries for free leads to API budget exhaustion.

Real-World Example: For example, a legal knowledge base or RAG service could charge $0.05 per question query against its private corpus.

How aipp Solves It

Protect your RAG query endpoint with aipp L402 middleware. The user or requesting LLM submits a question, receives a 402 challenge for the set price, pays, and receives the retrieved answer with citations.

Step-by-Step Payment Flow

STEP 01 Submit Question Client submits question to RAG endpoint.

STEP 02 Query Fee 402 Server issues HTTP 402 challenge for query fee.

STEP 03 Payment Settlement Client wallet settles invoice.

STEP 04 RAG Answer Delivered Server verifies payment proof, executes vector retrieval, and returns answer.

Scope & Boundaries

What aipp Does

✓ Gates RAG queries and knowledge base lookups behind verified micropayments
✓ Verifies payment preimages before allowing protected access
✓ Auto-forwards net proceeds to developer wallet

What aipp Does Not Do

✗ Does not host vector databases, perform embeddings, or host private documents
✗ Does not build RAG retrieval pipelines
✗ Does not store document collections

Implementation Pattern

Below is the minimal implementation pattern using standard aipp endpoints / SDK:

app.post('/api/rag/query', l402Paywall({
  client: aipp,
  amountUsd: 0.05
}), async (req, res) => {
  const answer = await ragPipeline.query(req.body.question);
  res.json({ answer });
});

Settlement Architecture Note:
• Lightning Rail: In hosted Lightning flows, payments route through aipp's Lightning gateway before net proceeds are automatically forwarded to your configured wallet address.
• Base USDC Rail: USDC transfers settle directly on-chain to your designated EVM wallet address.
• No Merchant Spending Balance: aipp does not maintain a spendable merchant balance or require manual withdrawal steps.

Requirements & Limitations

Merchant operates the vector database and RAG pipeline
Funds auto-forward to merchant wallet according to threshold settings

Frequently Asked Questions

Can AI agents query my RAG system automatically?

Yes. Autonomous agents can parse the L402 402 challenge, pay the Lightning invoice, and consume answers programmatically.

Related Use Cases

Data & Research AI Research Agent Monetize specialized market research, company intelligence, and automated deep data synthesis. AI & Agents Usage-Based AI Agent Tasks Charge for variable AI agent tasks per execution without forced subscriptions. APIs & Developers Paid Data API Sell specialized market data, weather metrics, analytics, and datasets per request.

Gate Paid Document & RAG Query Queries with aipp

Require payment verification before executing data queries or research synthesis.

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