Design 7: Research agent

Overview

A bounded system gathers external evidence and produces a cited research draft. Its output is decision support, not verified universal truth.

Why this matters

Questions may require several public sources and comparisons.

An everyday example

A researcher collects references and explains their differences.

A technical example

Search approved public sites, fetch bounded pages, and compare dated product information.

How it works

1. Define scope
2. Search
3. Validate destinations
4. Collect evidence
5. Synthesize
6. Verify citations/conflicts
7. Stop.

Architecture and flow

Question → bounded search/fetch → evidence store → cited synthesis → review.

The insurance assistant example

Staff compare public claim-submission processes across product documentation.

When to use it

Evidence gathering with clear time/source budgets.

When to avoid it

Do not expose private records to arbitrary sites or use unsourced research for claim adjudication.

Interview answer

“Research agents need bounded search, safe fetching, dated provenance, citation checks, and explicit uncertainty.”

Benefits, trade-offs, and production considerations

Prevent SSRF, unrestricted downloads, indirect injection, endless browsing, and stale citations. Save permitted source snapshots/versions for reproducibility.