# Questions an agent asks

> The three ways an agent asks you something mid-run — a choice, free text, or a set of preferences — and what happens while it waits.

An agent that is missing something it cannot look up **asks you**, instead of guessing. The [run](/docs/work/runs/) pauses, the question appears in the conversation, and answering resumes the work.

## When you see one

Whenever the agent hits a fork only you can settle: which of three documents you meant, what tone a draft should take, whether to include last quarter. A well-scoped agent asks rarely — an agent that asks constantly is usually missing standing context that belongs in its [system prompt](/docs/build/system-prompt/) or [memory](/docs/capabilities/memory/).

## The three kinds

**A choice.** Options rendered as buttons. Pick one — or several, when the question allows it. Some choices come in steps: answer the first and the next one appears, which is how an agent narrows something down without a wall of questions.

**Free text.** A single question with a text field, for something that cannot be reduced to options — a subject line, a name, a sentence of guidance.

**Preferences.** A set of tappable options gathered in one pass, used when the agent is calibrating how you want a piece of work done rather than asking a single factual question.

All three pause the run identically and are answered in the conversation.

## While it waits

The run is holding its place, not restarting. Everything the agent had already worked out — searches it ran, files it read — is still there when you answer.

You can leave and come back: the question is still in the thread, and the [inbox](/docs/work/inbox/) tells you an agent is waiting on you. Nothing expires while you think about it.

<Aside type="tip" title="You can answer with a message instead">
  A question is a suggestion of the answer's shape, not a cage. If none of the
  options is right, say so in the composer — the agent reads that and adapts.
</Aside>

## Fewer questions, better answers

An agent asks because something is undetermined. Remove the ambiguity and the question stops recurring:

| It keeps asking | Put the answer in |
| --- | --- |
| Which account, folder, or document you mean | The [system prompt](/docs/build/system-prompt/) |
| How you like results formatted | The system prompt |
| A fact about you or your work | [Memory](/docs/capabilities/memory/) |
| Background specific to one body of work | The [project](/docs/capabilities/projects/) |

## Limits

- A question pauses the run until it is answered. There is no timeout and no default answer.
- A [routine](/docs/automate/routines/) run has nobody to ask. Scheduled work should be specified precisely enough not to need a decision.
- Questions are answered in the conversation. The inbox tells you one is waiting; it does not answer it for you.

## Related

<CardGrid>
  <LinkCard
    title="Approvals"
    href="/docs/work/approvals/"
    description="The other reason a run pauses — and a stricter one."
  />
  <LinkCard
    title="Runs"
    href="/docs/work/runs/"
    description="Every reason a run stops, in one table."
  />
  <LinkCard
    title="Memory"
    href="/docs/capabilities/memory/"
    description="Teach it once instead of answering the same question weekly."
  />
</CardGrid>