Overview › Agent type

Structured output

Schema-valid typed output.

Specific to structured output

1. 9.b.i

   Make the final answer reliably extractable: state the format, extract robustly, force an answer at the limit

   State the required answer format in the prompt, and make the harness extract it robustly: strip markers, normalize numbers, detect refusals, and force a best-effort answer when the loop ends on a budget rather than returning nothing.

   Verification › Confirming completion

   Better quality

   Tier 2 · reliability · changes control flow, prompt · structured output agents · 4 sources

General optimizations with evidence from structured output

1. 7.a.ii

   Prompt chaining with gate checks

   Split a task that decomposes cleanly into fixed steps into a chain of model calls, one goal per call, with a gate between steps: a schema check, an assertion, or a run against the real system, and an LLM check only for subjective criteria.

   Orchestration › Routing

   Better qualityMore secureBetter governanceBetter for brandHigher costSlower

   Tier 4 · restructuring · changes control flow · any agent · 11 sources, 8 measured