PIIDetectionGuardrail to reject requests containing PII or replace detected values with masked placeholders.
This example catches
InputCheckError around print_response(), but Agno v2.7.2 converts that guardrail exception into a run with RunStatus.error. The source therefore prints false success messages for blocked inputs. Use the status-checking pattern in the PII Detection guide instead.pii_detection.py
"""
Pii Detection
=============================
Example demonstrating how to use PII detection guardrails with Agno Agent.
"""
import asyncio
from agno.agent import Agent
from agno.exceptions import InputCheckError
from agno.guardrails import PIIDetectionGuardrail
from agno.models.openai import OpenAIResponses
# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Create Agent
# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
async def main():
"""Demonstrate PII detection guardrails functionality."""
print("PII Detection Guardrails Demo")
print("=" * 50)
# Create an agent with PII detection protection
agent = Agent(
name="Privacy-Protected Agent",
model=OpenAIResponses(id="gpt-5-mini"),
pre_hooks=[PIIDetectionGuardrail()],
description="An agent that helps with customer service while protecting privacy.",
instructions="You are a helpful customer service assistant. Always protect user privacy and handle sensitive information appropriately.",
)
# Test 1: Normal request without PII (should work)
print("\n[TEST 1] Normal request without PII")
print("-" * 30)
try:
agent.print_response(
input="Can you help me understand your return policy?",
)
print("[OK] Normal request processed successfully")
except InputCheckError as e:
print(f"[ERROR] Unexpected error: {e}")
# Test 2: Request with SSN (should be blocked)
print("\n[TEST 2] Input containing SSN")
print("-" * 30)
try:
agent.print_response(
input="Hi, my Social Security Number is 123-45-6789. Can you help me with my account?",
)
print("[WARNING] This should have been blocked!")
except InputCheckError as e:
print(f"[BLOCKED] PII blocked: {e.message}")
print(f" Trigger: {e.check_trigger}")
# Test 3: Request with credit card (should be blocked)
print("\n[TEST 3] Input containing credit card")
print("-" * 30)
try:
agent.print_response(
input="I'd like to update my payment method. My new card number is 4532 1234 5678 9012.",
)
print("[WARNING] This should have been blocked!")
except InputCheckError as e:
print(f"[BLOCKED] PII blocked: {e.message}")
print(f" Trigger: {e.check_trigger}")
# Test 4: Request with email address (should be blocked)
print("\n[TEST 4] Input containing email address")
print("-" * 30)
try:
agent.print_response(
input="Please send the receipt to john.doe@example.com for my recent purchase.",
)
print("[WARNING] This should have been blocked!")
except InputCheckError as e:
print(f"[BLOCKED] PII blocked: {e.message}")
print(f" Trigger: {e.check_trigger}")
# Test 5: Request with phone number (should be blocked)
print("\n[TEST 5] Input containing phone number")
print("-" * 30)
try:
agent.print_response(
input="My phone number is 555-123-4567. Please call me about my order status.",
)
print("[WARNING] This should have been blocked!")
except InputCheckError as e:
print(f"[BLOCKED] PII blocked: {e.message}")
print(f" Trigger: {e.check_trigger}")
# Test 6: Mixed PII in context (should be blocked)
print("\n[TEST 6] Multiple PII types in one request")
print("-" * 30)
try:
agent.print_response(
input="Hi, I'm John Smith. My email is john@company.com and phone is 555.987.6543. I need help with my account.",
)
print("[WARNING] This should have been blocked!")
except InputCheckError as e:
print(f"[BLOCKED] PII blocked: {e.message}")
print(f" Trigger: {e.check_trigger}")
# Test 7: Edge case - formatted differently (should still be blocked)
print("\n[TEST 7] PII with different formatting")
print("-" * 30)
try:
agent.print_response(
input="Can you verify my credit card ending in 4532123456789012?",
)
print("[WARNING] This should have been blocked!")
except InputCheckError as e:
print(f"[BLOCKED] PII blocked: {e.message}")
print(f" Trigger: {e.check_trigger}")
print("\n" + "=" * 50)
print("PII Detection Demo Complete")
print("All sensitive information was successfully blocked!")
# Create an agent with PII detection which masks the PII in the input
agent = Agent(
name="Privacy-Protected Agent (Masked)",
model=OpenAIResponses(id="gpt-5-mini"),
pre_hooks=[PIIDetectionGuardrail(mask_pii=True)],
description="An agent that helps with customer service while protecting privacy.",
instructions="You are a helpful customer service assistant. Always protect user privacy and handle sensitive information appropriately.",
)
# Test 8: Request with SSN (should be masked)
print("\n[TEST 8] Input containing SSN (masked mode)")
print("-" * 30)
agent.print_response(
input="Hi, my Social Security Number is 123-45-6789. Can you help me with my account?",
)
# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Run Agent
# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
if __name__ == "__main__":
asyncio.run(main())
Run the Example
1
Set up your virtual environment
uv venv --python 3.12
source .venv/bin/activate
uv venv --python 3.12
.venv\Scripts\activate
2
Install dependencies
uv pip install -U agno openai
3
Export your OpenAI API key
export OPENAI_API_KEY="your_openai_api_key_here"
$Env:OPENAI_API_KEY="your_openai_api_key_here"
4
Use run status checks
Add
from agno.run import RunStatus. Replace each try/except InputCheckError block with response = agent.run(...), then treat response.status == RunStatus.error as blocked.5
Run the example
Save the code above as
pii_detection.py, then run:python pii_detection.py