What Is the Goldilocks Zone?

The Goldilocks zone comes from astronomy and describes the zone around a star where water stays liquid because the temperature is just right. For AI agents, the term refers to the sweet spot in autonomy, meaning independent enough to be useful but controlled enough to be safe. Too little autonomy makes AI expensive automation, too much leads to uncontrolled outcomes.

This zone isn’t static and shifts with context, team, and tool maturity. Anthropic describes the principle for prompt design as the “right altitude” between too specific and too vague.¹