# agent hallucinated compliance requirement not in rfp: how to fix it

Agents hallucinate requirements when they summarize from memory instead of the document. Force every matrix row to carry a verbatim quote and page reference, and reject rows that cannot cite one.

```text
agent hallucinated compliance requirement not in rfp
```

## When to use this skill
- Compliance matrix lists requirements nobody can find
- Agent cites requirement numbers that do not exist

## When not to use this skill
- Agent misreads a real requirement (a comprehension issue)
- Matrix misses real requirements (a recall issue)

## Tool compatibility
Agent compliance grounding and citations. Related area: agent evaluations.

Related area: proposal automation and agent-assisted RFP workflows.

Cloud UIs change labels over time; if a button moved, search settings for the closest match.

## Before you start
- Sign in to the tool and keep one tab open so sessions stay clean
- Copy the exact error text and note the time it happened
- Set aside 15 to 20 minutes; most of these resolve in a single pass

## Quick diagnosis
Make sure this is the right skill before you invest the 15 minutes.
- If you are dealing with compliance matrix lists requirements nobody can find, start at step 1 below.
- If instead agent misreads a real requirement (a comprehension issue), stop here; you need a different skill.
- If neither quite matches, compare your screen against the verbatim error block at the top; that block is exactly what this skill covers.

## Fix it in steps
### 1. Require a quote per matrix row

```
Add a source-quote column; every row must quote the RFP verbatim.
```
Expected: Expected: rows without quotes are visibly incomplete.

### 2. Add page references

```
Record the page number beside each quote.
```
Expected: Expected: every requirement traces to a page.

### 3. Reject uncited rows

```
Delete or flag any row that cannot produce a quote.
```
Expected: Expected: phantom requirements disappear from the matrix.

### 4. Spot check five rows

```
Open the RFP to the cited pages for five random rows.
```
Expected: Expected: all five quotes exist on those pages.

## Confirm each step worked
Run through this checklist before moving on. If a check fails, redo that step instead of pushing ahead.
- Step 1 (require a quote per matrix row): Expected: expected: rows without quotes are visibly incomplete.
- Step 2 (add page references): Expected: expected: every requirement traces to a page.
- Step 3 (reject uncited rows): Expected: expected: phantom requirements disappear from the matrix.
- Step 4 (spot check five rows): Expected: expected: all five quotes exist on those pages.

## Quick recap
1. Require a quote per matrix row
2. Add page references
3. Reject uncited rows
4. Spot check five rows

## Still stuck?
Gather three things: the exact error text, the time it happened, and what changed just before it broke.
Check the vendor status page for an active incident. Then open a support ticket with those three things;
it cuts the back-and-forth in half. For agent runs, attach the last 50 lines of the agent log too,
since the loop or timeout signature in the log usually names the cause.

## Variant phrasings
### agent hallucinated compliance requirement
Quote-per-row grounding fixes it. If this matches what you saw, the steps above apply as written.

### rfp agent invented requirements
Reject uncited rows. If this matches what you saw, the steps above apply as written.

## Why it happens
Summarization without citation lets the model fill gaps with plausible inventions, and compliance language is formulaic enough that inventions look real. A mandatory quote column makes invention structurally impossible.

## Edge cases
- Review the rejected rows; some are real requirements the agent phrased badly
- Page numbers shift between RFP versions; cite the version too
- A second agent pass that only verifies citations catches what the first pass invents

## Provenance

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