Let the agent ask
NewThe assistant is unsure in the middle of a task. Should it guess?
No. It asks one clear question with a few choices, and the person can let it decide.
Try it
Waiting for you
1Needs you now1
- Trip planQuestion
Which hotel should I book?
Waiting 1 min
Two hotels fit your dates. Which one should I book?
How to design it
- 1
Know when to ask
Ask when a step cannot be undone, when something is missing, or when a sign-in is needed. Do not ask about small safe steps.
- 2
Ask once, with choices
Put the question in plain words with two to four options. Say what makes each one different.
- 3
Let the agent decide
Add a button that hands the choice back. Some people just want it done.
- 4
Never take secrets in the answer box
For a sign-in, send the person to the real sign-in page. Do not offer a place to type a password.
Do and avoid
Do
- Say which task is waiting for the answer.
- Offer two to four choices and a short line for each.
- Show the question where people already look for things that need them.
- Show the answer afterwards, with a way to change it.
Avoid
- Do not guess when a wrong guess cannot be undone.
- Do not ask the same question twice.
- Do not ask people to type passwords or card numbers into the answer box.
- Do not ask about every small step.
Why it works
Anthropic's study of its own agent found that on hard tasks it asks for clarification more than twice as often as on simple ones, and more often than people interrupt it. The reasons were mostly to propose approaches, to collect facts and to ask for sign-in details. Three other sources also say an assistant should ask when unsure rather than guess.