Structured Output

Structured output constrains a model's response to follow a specific format, such as JSON or XML, validated against a schema you define, so that downstream code can parse the result reliably instead of wrestling with free-form text. In agent systems, a single missing field or wrong type in a tool call response can crash an entire pipeline, so structured output eliminates a whole class of integration bugs that would otherwise require fragile regex parsing or post-hoc validation. Most providers now support structured output natively through response format parameters or tool-use schemas, making the output of one agent call reliable enough to feed directly as input to the next.