How to review an AI agent's proposal.
Before you approve what an AI agent wants to do, run five checks: what would actually happen, the exact action, who asked and why, what inspecting shows, and whether it can be undone. Most proposals pass in seconds. The ones that don't are why you're there.
Try it: find the five checks on a real card
This is a scenario from the Payments & Billing course. Tap each numbered part of the card to see which check it answers.
Approving will
Refund a Stripe charge
250.00 USDof 250.00 USD
stripe.refund · Charge ID ch_3Qm…7RkMoney goes back to the customer. It can't be taken back, Stripe keeps its processing fee, and it doesn't cancel a subscription.
Refund a $250 top-up that charged twice, 40 seconds apart
Why: Two identical charges on the same card; only one reached the balance
Support ticket · from the account owner: “I clicked top-up once and got charged twice.”
- What would actually happenThe title and the amount are written by the tool from the real request: a refund of this exact sum.
- The exact actionThe operation and its target: a refund, on this charge. Check it's the charge you think it is.
- Who asked, and whyA support ticket from the account owner. Ask whether that source should be trusted with this request.
- InspectLook at the account itself. Here the balance shows a single credit: the second charge really was a double click.
- Can it be undone?"It can't be taken back." A refund is final, so it deserves a slower read than closing a ticket.
1. What would actually happen
Read the line written by the tool, not the agent's summary. "Refund a Stripe charge" sounds small; "Money goes back to the customer. It can't be taken back" tells you what you're signing.
2. The exact action
The receipt line names the operation and its target: which charge, which DNS record, which branch, which account. Check the target is the one you think it is.
3. Who asked, and why
A request from a colleague in the team channel isn't the same as an email signed with a colleague's name, or a line of text in a log the agent was reading. Check the channel as well as the name.
4. Inspect
When something feels off, look at the account itself: the payment history, the other records, who created the account and when. In Human Queue Training this is the Inspect button, and in the exam it's free.
5. Can it be undone?
Closing an issue can be undone; deleting a repository might not be. Refunds, deletions, transfers and published releases deserve the slowest read.