The agent asks the user a question to which it does not know the answer in order to capture new information.
- A: Ask for a specific piece of information (slot).
- U: Provide value → A: Confirm/store.
- U (Optional): Sequence closer.
This primitive is the building block for question-driven dialogue, where chains of agent inquiries prompt human thinking and elaboration.
Repair affordances
Repeat the question; paraphrase; example of valid input; define technical terms.
Metrics
Drop-off per slot; correction rate; time-to-complete; data validity rate.
Consequences
- the missing value is captured and confirmed, and the activity resumes at the step that needed it
- the actor has been asked directly, which sets the expectation that the agent only asks for what it genuinely lacks; anything it could have inferred or defaulted now reads as busywork when it asks again
Related patterns
Enables
- Conversation — agent inquiry drives question-driven dialogue
- Open request — agent inquiry is embedded within open request to gather missing constraints
Preceded by
- Agent repair — the agent's reading of the request is on the surface where the actor can correct it; where the trouble turns out to be one specific missing value rather than a wrong interpretation, the exchange narrows to asking for it
- Opening (User) — the actor's topic is on the table and the agent has aligned to it; the shape of what they brought decides the activity — a question answerable in one turn passes straight into user inquiry, a goal with steps behind it into an open request, and one stated too loosely to act on needs the agent to ask first