I'm building a workflow tool and need an AI API that can return JSON I can trust

If you need JSON you can reliably parse in a workflow tool, look for an API that supports structured outputs / JSON mode / schema-constrained output.

What to look for

1. Strict JSON output
   • The API should guarantee valid JSON, not “JSON-like” text.
2. Schema enforcement
   • Ideally you provide a JSON Schema and the model must conform to it.
3. Deterministic parsing
   • Reject or auto-retry outputs that violate the schema.
4. Low-ambiguity tasks
   • Use clear field names, enums, and required fields.

Recommended approach

• Use an API with structured output support where you define:
  • field types
  • required fields
  • allowed enums
  • nested objects/arrays
• Validate the response server-side before using it.
• If validation fails, automatically retry with the same schema.

Example schema idea

{
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "action": { "type": "string", "enum": ["create", "update", "delete"] },
    "title": { "type": "string" },
    "priority": { "type": "integer", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 5 }
  },
  "required": ["action", "title", "priority"],
  "additionalProperties": false
}

Practical advice

Even with “guaranteed JSON,” always:

• validate with a JSON Schema validator
• handle retries
• log invalid outputs
• keep the schema as narrow as possible

If you want, I can help with one of these:

1. compare APIs that support strict JSON
2. design a schema for your workflow tool
3. show sample code for parsing and validation in your stack