4 Feb 2026 · 6 min read
An ops playbook for human-in-the-loop agents
Human review is a feature. Here is how to design queues, SLAs, and escalation so shared-services teams can sustain it.
Start by defining which actions require a human signature: customer-facing sends, financial writes, or anything irreversible under your control framework.
Design the review UI around decisions, not model internals. Reviewers need context, suggested action, and a one-click approve/edit/reject path.
Set SLAs for the review queue in business hours. An agent that drafts instantly is useless if reviews pile up overnight with no owner.
Track disagreement rates between agent suggestions and human edits. That signal tells you where to improve prompts, tools, or training data.
Publish a pause procedure. Every serious deployment needs a known way to stop automated actions without taking down the surrounding product.