Title: Using guardrails with AI agents

Publication: Ready, Set, Cloud!
Author: Allen Helton
Published: October 24, 2025
URL: https://www.readysetcloud.io/talks/using-guardrails-with-ai-agents/

Part 4 of our enterprise agent series with Andres Moreno covers input/output validation, when to skip the model, and how guardrails keep agents reliable, cheaper, and safer in production.


#### Description

You cannot ship enterprise-grade AI agents without guardrails. Period. In part 4 of 6 of the Enterprise AI Agent Design series, Andres and I dig into input and output validation, the least exciting yet most impactful part of safe agent design.

We cover how to enforce structure before the model runs, short-circuit calls that do not need an LLM, and validate and reshape outputs so they match expectations. Using the Promptatron 3000, we walk through live examples to show how these practices save cost, prevent cascading errors, and create agents that fail gracefully instead of spectacularly.

Guardrails may feel like a chore, but they are how you build autonomy you can trust.