Structured Outputs
Understand what structured outputs are, why they matter, and how to use them in Lyzr Agents.
In Lyzr, Structured Outputs allow an agent’s response to be returned in a machine-readable format such as JSON. Instead of free-form text (which is harder to parse and act upon), structured outputs give predictable formats that downstream systems and tools can work with directly.
This is especially important when integrating Lyzr agents into larger workflows or automation systems.
✨ Why Structured Outputs Matter
✅ Machine Interoperability
Structured responses (like JSON) allow easy integration with tools, databases, dashboards, and APIs.
✅ Predictable Parsing
Downstream tasks don’t need to rely on fragile regex or NLP to extract meaning — the format is known and constant.
✅ UI Rendering
Structured outputs can be displayed directly in tables, charts, or UI components inside Lyzr Studio or external apps.
✅ Validation & Error Handling
You can define required fields, types, or even schemas to validate outputs and catch hallucinations early.
🧠 Example Use Cases
🎯 Lead Scoring Agent
🛠️ Tech Support Ticket Generator
📬 Email Generator
🏗️ How to Use Structured Outputs in Lyzr Studio
Agent Setup
In the Agent creation form, scroll down to the “Expected Output Format” section. Toggle Structured Output to ON.
Define Structure
Provide a sample JSON or a schema-like format.
Example:
Agent Prompting
Guide the agent to respond only in this structure. You can add instructions like:
Validation
Lyzr can automatically validate if the agent output matches the expected structure. If not, retries or error prompts can be triggered.
🧩 Best Practices
Tip | Description |
---|---|
💬 Be explicit | Clearly instruct the agent to return only JSON, with no surrounding explanations. |
🔁 Retry failures | If the output doesn’t match the schema, implement a fallback or retry with clarification. |
🎯 Keep it minimal | Only include necessary fields in the structure to avoid verbosity. |
🧪 Test edge cases | Try empty inputs or malformed examples to validate agent behavior. |
🧩 When Not to Use Structured Outputs
While powerful, structured outputs are not always necessary:
- Use free-form outputs for conversational agents, creative writing, or open-ended analysis.
- Use structured outputs for integrations, data transformations, or post-processing workflows.
📌 Summary
Feature | Value |
---|---|
Format | JSON, tables, key-value |
Best for | Automation, parsing, UI rendering |
Setup | Enabled in agent creation or API |
Key Benefit | Makes agent responses usable in downstream logic |
Using Structured Outputs in Lyzr transforms your agents from just conversational tools to modular, programmable, and integrable components — perfect for real-world applications.