What is agentic metadata?

Bill Doerrfeld | January 5, 2026

Agentic metadata: the valuable exhaust from AI agents

Like any production software application, AI agents are producing a spectrum of metadata behind the scenes. Some are calling agentic metadata a “gold mine” to direct continual improvements.


My latest deep dive for The New Stack explores the types of agentic metadata and how to put it to use. The article acts as a 101 primer for agentic metadata, defining the kinds of metadata AI agents actually produce, and which ones matter most. It also explores a handful of examples of how teams are already actively using this data in practice.


The results? It's not just about observability. Agentic metadata can be re-purposed for retraining, gradual improvements, optimizations, testing and debugging, auditing, informing software architecture, and more.


I definitely plan on keeping tabs on this area. For now, check out the post here for more information!

Read: Is Agentic Metadata the Next Infrastructure Layer?

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