How to check data freshness before an AI agent answers
Define acceptable data age, distinguish a successful sync from complete coverage, and make agents disclose stale or missing sources.
An AI agent should check the freshness and coverage of every source required for a time-sensitive answer. A recent sync timestamp is useful, but it does not prove that every expected dataset, record or field was included. Define an acceptable data age for the task, inspect committed state, and make uncertainty visible.
Define “fresh enough” for the decision
Start with the decision the answer will influence. A weekly account review can tolerate a different delay from an operational alert. Write an explicit requirement such as: “For this daily briefing, each required source must have committed successfully within the last 24 hours.” This is an example policy, not a Combined service guarantee.
Specify the time zone, required datasets and behavior when the requirement is missed. For a low-stakes summary, a labeled partial answer may be useful. For a time-sensitive action, the application may need to stop and request a new sync or human review.
Freshness is also different from event time. An invoice can be ingested today while describing a payment from last month. Use the business event field for the requested date range, and the ingestion state to explain when the system last checked the source.
Check four signals independently
| Signal | Question to ask | What it cannot prove alone |
|---|---|---|
| Authorization | Can this connection still access the intended source account? | That a sync completed |
| Committed freshness | When did the selected data last become queryable? | That every desired dataset was selected |
| Coverage | Which datasets, fields and history are actually present? | That a missing record never existed |
| Query receipt | Did this identity run this bounded query successfully? | That the business interpretation is correct |
For an answer joining two systems, check both. Fresh billing data cannot make stale CRM ownership data current. If a result depends on the intersection, the weakest required source can constrain the whole conclusion.
A source can also be healthy while a newly added field is absent from the approved selection. Treat schema changes as something to review, not evidence that an agent should automatically broaden its access.
Give the agent an explicit answer contract
Put the freshness requirement beside the business question. This sample uses a 24-hour threshold purely as an example:
Before answering this daily briefing:
- List the required sources and datasets.
- Check the committed freshness of each source.
- Treat data older than 24 hours as stale for this task.
- State missing datasets or fields. Do not infer zero
activity from missing access or missing records.
- Run only permitted read-only queries.
- Include the time window, receipt ID, and truncation.
If a required source is stale, return a labeled partial
answer or explain what must be refreshed.In Combined MCP, use discovery tools to identify the granted sources, describe_dataset to inspect fields and freshness, and get_freshness for source status. The documented freshness tool accepts up to eight sources per request; split a larger check into bounded requests.
Keep query receipts as traceability evidence. They help identify the request and applicable controls, but do not replace a record-level audit or prove that an answer considered every relevant source.
Run a freshness drill before relying on the answer
Use a test workspace or a source you can safely change. Record a known value, make a source change, run or wait for the configured sync, then confirm when the new value becomes queryable. Repeat with a field outside the selected scope to confirm that the agent describes the gap correctly.
- Check a successful sync and a known changed record.
- Check a stale source against the task’s freshness requirement.
- Check a query that reaches its output limit and must disclose truncation.
- Check a dedicated test grant after revocation.
- Confirm that the final answer distinguishes “no matching records” from “unable to inspect the required data.”
Combined supports manual, daily and allowlisted hourly sync choices. Availability depends on the connector and account policy; do not promise real-time freshness for every source. Read the source and freshness reference and verify the actual configuration in your workspace.
Sources and further reading
Explore the documentation behind this guide. Product details checked on September 9, 2026.