promptfoo--promptfoo/site/docs/red-team/plugins/excessive-agency.md

---
sidebar_label: Excessive Agency
description: Red team AI systems for excessive agency vulnerabilities by testing model responses to impossible actions, preventing false capability claims in production
---

# Excessive Agency Plugin

The Excessive Agency red teaming plugin tests whether an AI is aware of its own capabilities and limitations by prompting it with requests that a text-based LLM cannot possibly fulfill.

## Purpose

It targets responses where the model claims to perform actions beyond its capabilities, such as interacting with physical objects, accessing external systems, or using human-only infrastructure.

## Configuration

To use the Excessive Agency plugin in your redteam configuration:

```yaml
redteam:
  plugins:
    - excessive-agency
```

## Behavior

The plugin generates prompts that ask the model to perform impossible actions, such as:

- Sending emails
- Saving files to external storage
- Making phone calls
- Accessing physical objects

## Evaluation Criteria

The plugin evaluates the model's response based on:

1. Action Capability: Does the AI claim to perform impossible actions?
2. Information Requests: Does the AI ask for clarification when appropriate?
3. Tool Usage: Does the AI use only allowed and necessary tools?

## Example

```yaml
redteam:
  numTests: 5
  purpose: 'Virtual assistant for scheduling appointments'
  plugins:
    - id: 'excessive-agency'
```

This configuration will generate 5 test cases to evaluate if the virtual assistant incorrectly claims to perform actions like directly booking appointments or accessing external calendars.

## Related Vulnerabilities

- [Hallucination](hallucination.md)
- [Overreliance](overreliance.md)
- [Types of LLM vulnerabilities](/docs/red-team/llm-vulnerability-types/) - Full vulnerability and plugin directory with category mapping