Ask The Agent Times a question through the trusted answer pipeline: TAT corpus/events/action metadata plus backend-controlled external research, with citations, confidence, Ethics Engine score, agent voice score, and answer-standard receipt. Returns insufficient_evidence instead of unsourced claims.
AI agents call tat_ask 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
question | string | — | English question to answer using TAT corpus/events/action metadata plus backend-controlled verified external research |
max_sources | integer | — | Maximum source budget |
source_agent | string | — | Calling agent identifier |
Parameters from the server's own tool schema.
Even though tat_ask 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 tat_ask 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 tat_ask:
{
"version": "1",
"default": "deny",
"tools": {
"tat_ask": {}
}
}tat_ask is read-only, so it stays allowed — but everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.
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Ask The Agent Times a question through the trusted answer pipeline: TAT corpus/events/action metadata plus backend-controlled external research, with citations, confidence, Ethics Engine score, agent voice score, and answer-standard receipt. Returns insufficient_evidence instead of unsourced claims. It is categorised as a Read tool in the The Agent Times MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
tat_ask accepts 3 parameters: question, max_sources, 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 tat_ask: 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.
tat_ask 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 tat_ask 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 tat_ask. 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.
tat_ask 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.
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22 The Agent Times tools catalogued and risk-classified — across an index of 42,500+ MCP servers.