Editing Openai/694057b6-101c-8007-9a65-c40578c7252d (section)

==== This is a good pattern. I’d frame it as a control-signaling channel: the model can emit machine-readable “flags” without you having to run another model to interpret raw text. ====

===== You’ve got two clean options: =====

A) Control tools (OpenAI function-calling schema, but intercepted)
* You include a small set of special functions in the tools list, e.g.: - signal_issue(code, detail, severity) - request_escalation(reason, summary) - declare_outcome(outcome_code)
* The worker intercepts these calls and does not send tool results back (or sends an empty ack and immediately ends, depending on your preference).
* The request returns with signals=[...] alongside text.

This keeps “format familiarity” high for the model (since it already understands tool calling).

B) Structured footer block (no tools)
* BIOS instructs the model to optionally end with a block like: - ===CONTROL=== {json...} ===/CONTROL===
* Worker parses and strips it, and stores the JSON as signals.

This is simpler if your backend’s tool-calling behavior is inconsistent.

===== - “I’m uncertain / likely wrong” → route to a verifier model =====
* “Need external data” → route to a browsing-capable model
* “Output too long / summarization requested” → route to summarizer
* “Potential policy risk / sensitive content” → route to a safety review model
* “Tooling limitation encountered” → route to an alternate worker

===== Treat signals as hints, not authority: =====
* models will sometimes over/under-trigger
* your orchestrator should combine signals with objective checks (timeouts, loop detector, max tokens reached, etc.)

===== - Signals are optional and bounded (max count per request, max size). =====
* Each signal has stable fields: - type (issue/escalation/outcome) - code (enum) - severity (low/med/high) - summary (short string) - meta (small dict, optional)
* Worker returns them in request result/status, even if the text is empty.

If you like, the next step in requirements is to define:
# the exact repeated-line thresholds you want as defaults, and
# the initial code enum for control signals (keep it tiny at first—like 8–12 codes—so it stays reliable).