# Designing an agent that knows when to ask

Illustrative editorial sample. This draft describes a general workflow, not a current announcement, quotation or measured benchmark. It requires editorial review before publication.

## A practical starting point

An illustrative approval workflow for tools that change external systems.

## 1. Define the boundary

Start with a narrow task and an explicit list of tools. Give the agent the minimum access required for that task.

## 2. Inspect the evidence

Separate a proposed action from its execution. Show the exact target, changes and consequences before approval.

## 3. Make the decision explicit

Bind approval to a specific request and revision. If the resource changes during review, inspect it again.

## 4. Test the failure path

Keep a useful event trail: requested action, tool response, approval and result. Test cancellation and partial failure as carefully as success.

## Review before use

Adapt this checklist to your application, record the assumptions and verify any product-specific facts against primary sources. This sample does not provide a news report, legal opinion or performance guarantee.


An illustrative approval workflow for tools that change external systems.

Designing an agent that knows when to ask

Sample Editorial Desk

# Treat retrieved instructions as untrusted content

Illustrative editorial sample. This draft describes a general workflow, not a current announcement, quotation or measured benchmark. It requires editorial review before publication.

## A practical starting point

An illustrative security review for systems that read documents and use tools.

## 1. Define the boundary

Identify the trust boundary between application instructions and retrieved material. A document should not grant new permissions.

## 2. Inspect the evidence

Authorize each tool call using application identity and policy. Do not rely on the model to enforce access control.

## 3. Make the decision explicit

Redact secrets before context construction. Include only resources the current user is permitted to inspect.

## 4. Test the failure path

Test hostile text, misleading links, malformed outputs and attempts to access another account. Verify rejection without leaking private context.

## Review before use

Adapt this checklist to your application, record the assumptions and verify any product-specific facts against primary sources. This sample does not provide a news report, legal opinion or performance guarantee.


An illustrative security review for systems that read documents and use tools.

Treat retrieved instructions as untrusted content

# Design retrieval around evidence, not more context

Illustrative editorial sample. This draft describes a general workflow, not a current announcement, quotation or measured benchmark. It requires editorial review before publication.

## A practical starting point

An illustrative retrieval workflow with clear source ownership and failure handling.

## 1. Define the boundary

Define the question types the collection is meant to answer. Track document origin, access rights and update time.

## 2. Inspect the evidence

Choose chunking and retrieval settings using representative queries. Inspect the actual retrieved passages instead of only the final response.

## 3. Make the decision explicit

Link answers to evidence that supports the claim. If a passage does not answer the question, allow the system to say so.

## 4. Test the failure path

Test stale, contradictory and inaccessible documents. Enforce document permissions before retrieval and before displaying citations.

## Review before use

Adapt this checklist to your application, record the assumptions and verify any product-specific facts against primary sources. This sample does not provide a news report, legal opinion or performance guarantee.


An illustrative retrieval workflow with clear source ownership and failure handling.

Design retrieval around evidence, not more context

# Before the headline: a checklist for verifying AI announcements

Illustrative editorial sample. This draft describes a general workflow, not a current announcement, quotation or measured benchmark. It requires editorial review before publication.

## A practical starting point

Separate a primary announcement from commentary before drafting a news story.

## 1. Define the boundary

Find the dated announcement on the organization’s own website. Record both the event date and the date you checked it.

## 2. Inspect the evidence

Compare the announcement with the release notes, model card or technical report it references. Mark missing details rather than filling them in.

## 3. Make the decision explicit

Distinguish availability, demonstrations and measured capability. A planned release is not a deployed product.

## 4. Test the failure path

Keep quotations exact and attributed. Do not turn marketing language into an independent benchmark claim.

## Review before use

Adapt this checklist to your application, record the assumptions and verify any product-specific facts against primary sources. This sample does not provide a news report, legal opinion or performance guarantee.


Separate a primary announcement from commentary before drafting a news story.

Before the headline: a checklist for verifying AI announcements

# Evaluate image-and-text workflows as a whole

Illustrative editorial sample. This draft describes a general workflow, not a current announcement, quotation or measured benchmark. It requires editorial review before publication.

## A practical starting point

An illustrative checklist for products that combine visual inputs and written responses.

## 1. Define the boundary

Describe the supported input types and quality limits. Tell users when a photo or scan is too unclear for a reliable result.

## 2. Inspect the evidence

Include accessible alternatives and preserve meaningful image descriptions. Obtain the permissions needed to process uploaded material.

## 3. Make the decision explicit

Evaluate the complete workflow, including upload validation, context construction and the displayed answer.

## 4. Test the failure path

Test ambiguous imagery and missing context. Require a human decision where the result affects a consequential action.

## Review before use

Adapt this checklist to your application, record the assumptions and verify any product-specific facts against primary sources. This sample does not provide a news report, legal opinion or performance guarantee.


An illustrative checklist for products that combine visual inputs and written responses.

Build your next website

Website templates

Launch your online store

Ecommerce

A shared language for people and agents

Build with SigmaUI

Find your starting point

Learn and explore

Resources

AI Agents

Articles

Designing an agent that knows when to ask