Shovels Shovels - Building permit and contractor intelligence
Shovels Online

Just ask Charlie

Charlie is the AI agent built into Shovels Online. Ask for permits, contractors, city decisions—whatever you need—in plain English.

Charlie answering a question inside Shovels Online
AI-POWERED DATA INTELLIGENCE

See what Charlie can do

01

Ask in plain English

Charlie understands context and synonyms. She knows what you mean, not just what you type.

  • Natural language, no SQL or API knowledge
  • Knows database nuances and trade terminology
  • Clickable example prompts to get started fast
Shovels.ai
Charlie answering a plain-English query in the chat

02

Get clean results, not raw matches

Charlie filters false positives automatically. She knows a "parking stacker" might be filed as an "automated parking system," and searches for both.

  • False positives removed automatically
  • Shows the SQL behind every answer
  • Searches permits, contractors, and city decisions in one place
Shovels.ai
Charlie's results with the SQL behind the answer shown

03

Refine, visualize, and pick up where you left off

Not quite right? Narrow, expand, or pivot until it is. Charlie builds charts from your questions and saves every chat.

  • Iterative refinement until it's right
  • Dynamic charts generated from your data
  • Saved chats, available 24/7
Shovels.ai
A chart Charlie generated from a query inside the chat

Rather dig through it yourself?

Charlie lives inside Shovels Online, where you can also work hands-on: filter construction data, open contractor and geography profiles, and export to CSV.

How Charlie works

Three steps to data intelligence

  1. 01

    Tell Charlie what to find

    Just ask. "Find the top solar contractors in Texas" or "Which cities approved the most ADU permits last quarter?" No filters to configure.

  2. 02

    Watch her find it

    Charlie searches the entire Shovels data network—permits, contractors, city decisions—filtering out noise and false positives along the way.

  3. 03

    Get exactly what you need

    Clean data, ready to use. Tell Charlie to narrow down, expand, or pivot. She sticks with your search until you're satisfied.

Frequently asked questions

What is Charlie?

Charlie is the AI agent built into Shovels Online, our web app. She turns plain-English questions into precise queries across building permits, contractors, and city decisions, then returns clean results that are ready to use—no query language required. Charlie is not a separate product or a separate login: she is a chat panel inside the app you already have.

What data can Charlie search?

Charlie can search everything in the Shovels data network. That includes building permits from jurisdictions covering roughly 85% of the US population, contractor and license records, city and county decisions, and the property data linked to all of them.

Do I need to know SQL or how to use an API?

No, you don't need any technical background. You ask questions in plain English and Charlie handles the querying. If you ever want to verify her work, she shows the SQL behind every answer so you can see exactly how she found your results.

How is Charlie different from a regular database search?

Traditional database search requires exact keywords and returns everything that happens to match. Charlie understands natural language and what you actually mean, removes false positives automatically, and keeps refining with you until the results are exactly right.

Can Charlie create charts?

Yes. Charlie generates charts automatically based on your questions and the data she returns, and you can ask her to visualize any result. It's an easy way to turn a query into something you can drop straight into a report or presentation.

How do I get access to Charlie?

Charlie is part of Shovels Online, included on every plan. Sign in with your existing Shovels account, or create a new one at app.shovels.ai/signup, and Charlie is right there in the app—there's no separate signup, no training required, and no software to install.

Ready to see what Charlie digs up?

Ask your first question and get answers instantly.