Analysts followed AI agents' leans 86% of the time in study
A randomized controlled trial asked 50 professional analysts to evaluate a fictional farming cooperative’s advisory program using Claude Code, an Anthropic AI agent running Claude Opus 4.8. The agents were secretly biased toward one of two reasonable options on each of four analytical decisions. Across the four choices, analysts adopted the agent’s preferred option 86% of the time – 92% for the…
Key points
- Analysts matched AI agents' lean on four decisions 86% overall (92% outcome, 82% comparison, 81% farms, 90% weighting)
- When agents opposed analysts' prior choice, analysts switched 60% of time versus 6% when agents agreed
- Using the agent cut median task time to 65 minutes and reduced serious errors to 6% versus 55% without AI
When analysts had already expressed a preference before seeing the agent’s suggestion, they switched to the agent’s view 60% of the time if it disagreed, but only 6% when it agreed. Analysts who used the agent finished faster (median 65 minutes vs 90 minutes without AI) and made far fewer serious methodological errors (6% vs 55%). The study notes that while agents can speed work and reduce errors, their hidden leans may subtly steer professional judgments, raising concerns for AI safety and policy‑impact decisions.
The authors caution that the experimental setup amplified the agents’ influence; real‑world effects may be smaller when agents lack explicit preferences. Still, the findings highlight how AI tools can shape expert decisions even when users believe they retain control.
The story so far
7 episodes →- Analysts followed AI agents' leans 86% of the time in studythis story
Research: professional analysts followed AI agents' randomly assigned "leans" on subjective analytical decisions 86% of the time; 77% used the agents' arguments
anthropic.com · 28 October 2026
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