Approval gate

An approval gate is a control point that blocks a defined class of automated action from executing until a person approves it, enforced by the system rather than by instructing the model to be careful.

A gate is defined by what it stops, not by what it allows. A typical set: anything irreversible, anything legally binding, anything that states a price, anything published in the company’s name, and any spend above a threshold the owner sets. Everything outside that set executes without interruption.

The enforcement point is what makes a gate real. A model told to seek approval for large discounts will usually do so. A system in which a discount above the threshold cannot be applied without an approval record does so every time, including on the day the model behaves unexpectedly.

Gates create a queue, and the queue is the operator’s actual job. Tuning it is ordinary practice: a gate that never stops anything is not protecting anything, and one that stops everything turns automation back into manual work.

See also human-in-the-loop and agent workforce.