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Designing AI agents to resist prompt injection

OpenAI Blog / 3/11/2026

💬 OpinionIdeas & Deep Analysis

Key Points

  • The article explains how ChatGPT defends against prompt injection and social engineering by constraining risky actions and protecting sensitive data in agent workflows.
  • It outlines concrete defense mechanisms like input filtering, command whitelisting, sandboxed tool interactions, and data minimization to prevent manipulation and leakage.
  • It discusses safety-usability trade-offs, showing how stricter controls can impact agent capabilities and performance.
  • It argues for safety-by-design in AI systems, calling for engineering, governance, and workflow changes across teams to embed these protections.
How ChatGPT defends against prompt injection and social engineering by constraining risky actions and protecting sensitive data in agent workflows.