# Intel agent hallucinating competitor pricing, validation failed

## TL;DR
Invented competitor prices are worse than missing prices because they look authoritative in a briefing. The fix is the same grounding rule as financial figures: every price must trace to a fetched page, feed, or vendor record, and untraced prices get dropped. Validate prices against a second source when the briefing depends on them.

## The error
```text
(validation failed)
intel agent hallucinating competitor pricing; claimed $99/seat, source page shows $149/seat
```

## When this helps
- an agent invents competitor prices
- pricing claims fail source checks
- building pricing validation
- auditing competitive intel quality

## When it doesn't
- the source page changed; re-fetch before calling it hallucination
- prices are estimates by design; label them as such
- you need real-time prices; validation adds latency

## Works with
python 3.8+ with re and json. Any pricing source.

## Steps
### 1. Extract every claimed price with its source
```python
import re
brief = open("brief_draft.md").read()
claims = re.findall(r"\$([0-9,.]+)\s*(?:/|per\s+)?(seat|mo|month)?\s*\[([^\]]+)\]", brief)
print("price claims:", len(claims))
```
Expected: Claimed prices with citations. Uncited prices are dropped immediately.

### 2. Verify each price against its cited source
```python
import json
checks = [{"price": "$99/seat", "source_price": "$149/seat", "match": False}]
open("price_checks.json", "w").write(json.dumps(checks, indent=2))
print("mismatches flagged for removal")
```
Expected: A verification record. The source of truth is the fetched page, not the agent's memory.

### 3. Drop unverified prices and note the gap
```python
import json
checks = json.load(open("price_checks.json"))
kept = [c for c in checks if c["match"]]
print("kept", len(kept), "prices; gaps noted explicitly in the briefing")
```
Expected: A brief with only verified prices. A noted gap beats a fabricated number.

### 4. Cross-check critical prices against a second source
```python
import json
print("for prices the briefing depends on: verify against a vendor feed or second fetch")
print("single-source prices carry a confidence note")
```
Expected: A cross-check policy. High-stakes numbers earn two sources.

## Other ways people phrase this
### agent hallucinating competitor pricing
Every price traces to a source. No trace, no publish.

### competitor price validation failed
The check working as designed. Fix generation, keep the check.

### invented prices briefing agent
Verification is a pipeline stage. Cross-check high-stakes numbers twice.

## Why it happens
Models invent prices when the briefing template demands a number the sources did not provide. The invented figure looks as confident as a real one. Source-tracing every price turns fabrication into a caught error, and explicit gaps keep the briefing honest.

## Edge cases
- Prices change; a verified price needs an as-of date.
- Promotional prices differ from list; record which one the source showed.
- Currency and billing period must match between claim and source.
- A price the source removed is a gap, not a license to keep the old number.
- Vendor list prices and checkout prices differ; record which one the source showed.

## Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_QyrSeQ51dWpv2TFR8iZoMQ