What is…

Guardrails

Rules and checks around an AI system that block unsafe, off-topic or wrong outputs and actions.

Guardrails include input filters, output validators, permission limits (read-only access, spending caps), approval steps before risky actions, and sandboxes that keep agents from touching things they shouldn't.

For agents, the most important guardrail is simple: require a human's OK before anything irreversible — sending, deleting, paying, publishing.

🧠 Test yourself

Which of these describes Guardrails?

Related terms

Human in the loop

Designing AI workflows so a person reviews or approves key steps.

Prompt injection

Hidden instructions in a web page, email or file that try to hijack an AI agent.

Alignment

Making AI systems reliably do what people actually intend — helpful, honest, and not harmful.

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