Request product research for a shopping or product-selection need. Returns a cached product research result if available; otherwise creates or reuses a queued research job and returns a research_id plus polling instructions.
AI agents call product_research_request to retrieve information from The Agent Times without modifying anything — typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.
| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
budget | string | — | Budget string, e.g. $300 |
category | string | — | Product category, e.g. microwave |
preferences | string | — | Free-form shopping preferences |
source_agent | string | — | Calling agent identifier for attribution |
Parameters from the server's own tool schema.
Even though product_research_request only reads data, uncontrolled read access leaks sensitive information and racks up API costs — an agent caught in a retry loop can make thousands of calls a minute without anyone noticing.
Documented attack patterns abuse exactly the kind of access product_research_request gives an agent:
PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway — it sits between your AI agents and The Agent Times, and nothing reaches the server without passing your rules. This is the rule we recommend for product_research_request:
{
"version": "1",
"default": "deny",
"tools": {
"product_research_request": {}
}
}product_research_request is read-only, so it stays allowed — but everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.
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Request product research for a shopping or product-selection need. Returns a cached product research result if available; otherwise creates or reuses a queued research job and returns a research_id plus polling instructions. It is categorised as a Read tool in the The Agent Times MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
product_research_request accepts 4 parameters: budget, category, preferences, source_agent. The full parameter table on this page comes from the server's own tool schema.
Register the The Agent Times MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for product_research_request: allow, deny, rate-limit, or require approval. Point your MCP client at the PolicyLayer proxy URL and the rule is enforced on every call, before it reaches The Agent Times. Nothing to install.
product_research_request is a Read tool with low risk. Read-only tools are generally safe to allow by default.
Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the product_research_request rule in your PolicyLayer policy. For example, setting max: 10 and window: 60 limits the tool to 10 calls per minute. Rate limits are tracked per agent session and reset automatically.
Set action: deny in the PolicyLayer policy for product_research_request. The AI agent will receive a policy violation error and cannot call the tool. You can also include a reason field to explain why the tool is blocked.
product_research_request is provided by the The Agent Times MCP server (theagenttimes/news). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
Deterministic rules across all 22 The Agent Times tools. Per-identity grants. Full audit log. Live in minutes. Nothing to install.
Free to start. No card required.
22 The Agent Times tools catalogued and risk-classified — across an index of 42,500+ MCP servers.