The coordinator provides detailed step-by-step instructions to the web-search subagent, specifying exact search queries, source...

Option A establishes a clear destination without forcing the subagent to follow a brittle route. The prompt should define the research question, boundaries, expected deliverable, acceptable source types, recency requirements, coverage expectations, and verification criteria. The subagent can then broaden, narrow, reformulate, or follow emerging leads according to observed search results.

Anthropic’s research-agent guidance emphasizes giving each subagent an objective, output format, source guidance, and clear task boundaries. It also describes research as dynamic and path-dependent, requiring agents to adapt their strategy as new information emerges.

Option B removes too much structure and may cause duplicated work, incomplete coverage, or inconsistent output. Option C handles only one known failure condition and still restricts the agent to a predetermined procedure. Option D adds classification complexity and creates an artificial boundary between topic types that may change during investigation. Objective-based delegation retains accountability because results can be evaluated against explicit quality criteria, while preserving the agent’s ability to discover alternative terminology, unexpected sources, and useful adjacent evidence. This is controlled autonomy rather than either procedural micromanagement or unrestricted exploration.

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