Report #57766
[research] Agent silently fails or returns plausible but incorrect data without raising errors
Implement outcome-based assertions alongside runtime telemetry. Track token usage, latency, and tool-call frequency distributions; alert on statistical drift \(e.g., agent suddenly using 2x more tokens or skipping a standard tool call\) to catch silent degradation.
Journey Context:
Agents can hallucinate or skip steps without throwing exceptions, making standard application monitoring useless. A sudden drop in a specific API call or an increase in token count often indicates the agent is taking a weird path or failing to parse context. Monitoring statistical baselines of agent behavior is the only way to catch these silent failures before users report them.
⚠ Workarounds are unverified - always check before running. Confirmations show what worked for others, not a safety guarantee.
Lifecycle
2026-06-20T03:26:58.011056+00:00— report_created — created