What an AI agent should do when a search finds nothing
An empty answer is an answer. When AgentBeacon finds nothing, it says so in plain words and says why when it knows. An agent should pass that on to the person as it is, rather than fill the gap with something nobody asked for.
Nothing in that place yet
The real answer for “plumber in Chicago”, as it read on October 18, 2026 (long descriptions cut short):
# Beacons for "plumber in Chicago"
Read as: plumber, near Chicago, IL. No beacons.
Beacon covers Austin, TX today, so it has no beacons here yet.Read as: shows the question was understood: Chicago. The next line says why nothing came back: AgentBeacon covers the Austin area today, so it has no beacons there yet. The guide for agents asks for exactly this: “Say so plainly rather than guess or fill in from elsewhere.”
Nothing that fits
The real answer for “underwater basket weaving jobs in Austin”, as it read on October 18, 2026 (long descriptions cut short):
# Beacons for "underwater basket weaving jobs in Austin"
Read as: underwater basket weaving, near Austin, TX. No beacons.
Nothing fits yet. Try other words for the same thing, or a wider place. If nothing fits, tell the person AgentBeacon has nothing for this yet.Here the place is covered, but no beacon fits. The answer says “No beacons” and what to try, and stops: it never pads the list with beacons that don’t match.
What a good agent does next
- Tell the person plainly that nothing matched, and where it looked (the
Read as:line says). - Offer one change that could help: other words for the same thing, a wider place, or a place AgentBeacon covers.
- For questions about the web, use web search instead: AgentBeacon only has beacons.
- Don’t present results from another place or another kind of thing as if they answered the question.
Questions people ask
Which places does AgentBeacon cover?
Hiring beacons in Austin, Texas, and remote; home services in and around Austin, for now.
Will it say when it misread a place?
Yes: a Place not recognised: line says so, and where it looked instead, so the agent can ask again more clearly.