Approve Before They Act
Approvals let you stay in control of sensitive actions. When an employee needs your sign-off, they pause, show you a card in the chat, and wait for your decision before continuing.
TL;DR
Employees can request your approval before taking sensitive actions (like sending an email) or ask you to choose between options (like picking a platform). When they do, an inline card appears in the chat with Approve/Reject buttons or option choices. You also get a notification. The employee pauses at zero cost until you respond. Approve, reject, or pick an option, and the employee resumes instantly.
How It Works
There are two types of requests employees can make:
| Type | When it triggers | What you see |
|---|---|---|
| Approval | Employee is about to take a sensitive action (send email, publish content, delete data) | Approve / Reject buttons in an amber card |
| Choice | Employee needs your preference on something (which platform, which format, which audience) | Multiple option buttons in a blue card |
Two ways approvals get triggered:
| Method | How | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Duty-based | You give the employee a duty that requires asking first | A duty says "always get approval before contacting clients" |
| Conversation-based | The employee uses judgment based on context and your instructions | You say "always check with me before sending anything external" |
Both work the same way. The employee pauses, you get notified, you decide, they continue.
The full flow:
| Step | What happens |
|---|---|
| 1. Employee hits a gate | A sensitive action or preference decision requires your input |
| 2. Employee pauses | Execution stops immediately. Status changes to "Awaiting Input" |
| 3. You get notified | A notification appears. An inline card appears in the chat with the action details |
| 4. You decide | Click Approve, Reject, or select an option |
| 5. Employee resumes | Work continues instantly from exactly where it stopped |
Zero cost while waiting. No tokens are consumed, no background processes run, and no credits are charged while the employee waits for your decision. The pause survives system restarts.
Where to Find It
Approval cards appear inline in the chat when an employee requests your input:
- Go to your Workspace
- Click on the employee who requested approval
- Scroll to the approval card in the chat conversation
You can also respond from the notification panel (bell icon in the top bar) without opening the chat.
What You Can Do
| Action | How |
|---|---|
| Approve an action | Click Approve on the inline card in chat, or from the notification panel |
| Reject an action | Click Reject. The employee skips the action and continues their workflow |
| Cancel a request | Click Cancel to dismiss the request without rejecting |
| Pick an option | Click one of the option buttons on a choice request |
| Review action details | The inline card shows the action name, details, and reason. Open the detail drawer from the notification for full context |
| Set up approval duties | Give employees a duty like "always get approval before contacting clients" |
How to Set It Up
For duty-based approval (recommended):
- Go to an employee's Duties tab
- Click Create Duty or Browse Duties
- Add a duty like "Always get my approval before sending emails to external contacts"
- Done. The employee will request approval when the duty applies
For conversation-based approval:
Simply tell the employee in chat: "Always check with me before sending anything external." The employee will remember and request approval in future interactions.
Tips and Tricks
- Use duties for consistent gates. A duty like "always get approval before contacting clients" ensures the employee always asks, every time
- Check notifications regularly. A pending approval blocks the employee from continuing that specific workflow
- Respond quickly for scheduled work. If a scheduled task triggers an approval, the employee waits until you respond. Check notifications so scheduled work does not stall
- Rejection is not an error. When you reject, the employee skips the action and continues their workflow normally. They will not re-request the same action
- The inline card has full context. The approval card shows what the employee wants to do and why, so you can make an informed decision without digging
Good to Know
- Zero cost pause. While waiting for your decision, nothing runs. No tokens, no background processes, no credits
- Durable wait. The pause survives system restarts. Your employee will still be waiting even if the server reboots
- Time awareness. When you respond after a delay, the employee is told how much time passed. After a long delay (hours or days), they reassess whether the action is still relevant before proceeding
- Deduplication built in. If the employee accidentally requests the same approval twice (e.g., from a scheduled heartbeat), the system detects the duplicate and only shows one request
- Page reload recovery. If you refresh the page while an approval is pending, the buttons reappear automatically
- Chained approvals. An employee can hit multiple approval gates in a single workflow. Each one pauses, waits, resumes, and continues to the next
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What happens if I reject an action? A: The employee skips the rejected action and continues their workflow normally. They update tasks, write journal entries, and respond to you as usual. They will not re-request the same action.
Q: Does the employee cost me credits while waiting? A: No. Zero tokens are consumed and zero credits are charged during the pause.
Q: Can I approve from the notification panel without opening the chat? A: Yes. The notification shows Approve/Reject buttons. Click directly from there.
Q: What if I do not respond to an approval request? A: The employee stays paused indefinitely until you respond. There is no automatic timeout.
Q: Can I see what the employee wants to do before approving? A: Yes. The inline card in chat shows the action name, details, and reason. For more context, open the detail drawer from the notification panel.
Q: How do I set up approval for specific tools? A: Add a duty to the employee describing when to ask for approval. For example, "Always ask before using the email tool to send external messages." The employee will follow this rule based on judgment.