Guardrails on the way out

An output guardrail reads the draft answer first. It might scan for personal data, check the tone, compare claims against the sources the app retrieved, or use a second model as a reviewer. Some checks are strict rules, such as never showing an account number in full.

If the answer fails, the app can rewrite it, swap in a safe fallback like "I can't help with that here, a staff member will contact you", add a warning, or route the case to a person.

Output checks matter most where answers have consequences, like health, money and legal topics. They add a little delay, so teams put the heaviest checks on the riskiest topics and lighter ones elsewhere.