How Echo keeps you on-topic

The Alignment Score on a single reply can jump around, so the Echo engine smooths it over recent turns. That way one off-topic aside won't trigger an overreaction — it takes a sustained drift to move the needle.

The smoothed score drives five states. As the conversation drifts further from the agent's subject, the assistant steers back more firmly.

State	Score band	What the assistant does
Stable	≥ 65	Answers normally, in character
Mild drift	55–64	Gently steers you back toward the topic
Moderate drift	45–54	Acknowledges, re-explains its subject, and invites you back
Severe drift	< 45	Reasserts the agent's role
Assistant refusal	(detected)	Resets to stay helpful and on-task

INFO

The transitions are gradual. A conversation usually moves one step at a time — Stable to Mild drift, not Stable straight to Severe — and climbs back the same way as you return to the topic.

TIP

Staying within your agent's subject keeps you in Stable, where the assistant answers most freely. If you need to cover a different domain, start a new chat with the agent that fits — or save your own agent tuned for it.