# 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 a card |
| **Choice** | Employee needs your preference on something (which platform, which format, which audience) | Multiple option buttons in a card |

**Three ways approval gates get triggered:**

| Method | How | Example |
|--------|-----|---------|
| **Per-tool setting** | You set a tool to "Requires approval" on the employee's **Tools** tab | Every use of that tool pauses for your sign-off, first time in a conversation |
| **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" |

All three work the same way. The employee pauses, you get notified, you decide, they continue.

Two tools ship set to require approval by default because of their cost: **Video Generator** and **Prospect Database**. Every other tool ships without a gate; you turn one on per tool if you want it. **Approval only asks once per conversation** for a given tool: after you approve it the first time, the employee keeps using that tool for the rest of that conversation without asking again. A rejection is never remembered the same way, so the employee still has to ask again next time.

For rules about whether an employee may disclose information it already knows, see [Information Boundaries](/guide/company/information-boundaries). That is separate from action approval.

**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:

1. Go to your **Workspace**
2. Click on the employee who requested approval
3. 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 |
| **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 |
| **Jump to the tool's permission** | An approval card for a tool shows a **Change permission** link that opens the **Tools** tab, scoped to that tool |
| **Set up approval duties** | Give employees a duty like "always get approval before contacting clients" |

## How to Set It Up

**For a specific tool (recommended for one risky tool):**

1. Go to the employee's **Tools** tab
2. Find the tool and switch its toggle from **Auto-approve** to **Requires approval**
3. Done. The employee now pauses and asks the first time it uses that tool in a conversation

**For duty-based approval (recommended for a general policy):**

1. Go to an employee's **Duties** tab
2. Click **Create Duty** or **Browse Duties**
3. Add a duty like "Always get my approval before sending emails to external contacts"
4. 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 the Tools tab for one risky tool.** Flipping a single tool to "Requires approval" is the most direct gate, and it only asks once per conversation
- **Use duties for a general policy.** A duty like "always get approval before contacting clients" covers a category of action, not just one tool
- **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
- **A stale request gets one reminder.** If you have not responded after 48 hours, you get a second notification, then again every 24 hours until you decide
- **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, but you get a reminder notification after 48 hours and then every 24 hours.

**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 a specific tool?**
A: Open the employee's **Tools** tab and switch that tool from "Auto-approve" to "Requires approval". This is the most reliable gate because it is enforced by the system, not by the employee's judgment.

**Q: Do I have to approve the same tool every time?**
A: No. A tool set to "Requires approval" asks once per conversation. After you approve it the first time, the employee keeps using it for the rest of that conversation without asking again.