03Automator8 min
Add an approval step before anything goes out
Design the pause: who approves, what they see, and what happens if nobody does.
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Start lessonUnderstand · Agents & automationData, privacy & security
Agents & automation
Human in the loop, explained
Where a person approves, and how to design the pause so it actually happens.
5 min readPlain English
Read it in
In one sentence
Human in the loop means a person checks or approves an AI’s work at the points that matter, before anything is sent, paid, published or deleted.
Think of it like…
In a busy restaurant, cooks plate the food, but the head chef looks at every dish before it goes out to a table. It works because the chef really looks, every time, and can send a plate back.
How it works
A good approval step is designed, not bolted on. It answers four questions: where the pause goes, who approves, what they see, and what happens if nobody does.
- 1WhereBefore anything that reaches a customer, moves money, commits you to something or can’t be undone. Let low-risk steps like sorting and drafting run.
- 2WhoOne named person, plus a backup, who knows the work well enough to spot a wrong answer, not just whoever is free.
- 3What they seeThe draft next to its source, with anything unusual flagged, so checking takes a minute rather than a rebuild.
- 4Their optionsApprove, edit or reject, each in one step, with a record of which was chosen.
- 5If nobody answersAnything risky waits and someone gets a reminder. It never goes ahead by default.
If nobody has changed a draft in weeks, either the AI is excellent or nobody is reading. Spot-check to find out which.
Good at, bad at
Good at
- Catching wrong names, numbers and promises
- Keeping a person accountable for each send
- Building trust before you automate more
Bad at
- Protecting you when approvers stop reading
- Coping with a flood of approval requests
- Catching errors the reviewer isn’t shown
Where you’ll see it at work
Customer replies. An online shop’s assistant drafts answers; a person reads each one and clicks Send.
Supplier invoices. At a bakery, AI reads and files the week’s invoices, and the owner approves the batch on Friday before anything is paid.
Quotes. A plumbing firm’s assistant drafts a quote from the job notes; the owner checks the price and the promised date before it goes out.
Myth vs reality
Myth: Adding a human check makes AI safe.
Reality: Only if the check really happens. Make reviewing quick, give it to the right person, and never let anything risky go ahead without them.
Words to know
Test yourselfNo grades
Your team approves every AI-drafted reply, but nobody has edited one in a month. What should you do first?
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From understanding to doing
Automate the repetitiveHuman approves
File receipts and invoices automatically, with a Friday review
Forward receipts to one inbox; AI pulls out the details and you approve the batch weekly.
Setup 40 min03Automator
Tools: free–$30/mo- A shared inbox
- Google Sheets
- Zapier or Make
A one-page AI policy for a small team
What to write down so everyone uses AI the same careful way.
5 minPlain English