Use a named approver roster to list, for each AI agent and each type of item it holds, the people who may approve it, each person's limit, the training they have completed, their deputies and the dates their rights start and end. Held work routes to a name on the roster and nowhere else.
Why must approvers be named?
Because "a supervisor will approve it" is not a control. When an agent holds a payment, a letter or an account change, the value of the hold depends entirely on who releases it. If anyone in a team can approve, nobody is accountable, and the person who clicks may lack the authority or knowledge to judge. The idea is set out in named approver: what it means for AI agents. Named approvers are what make the held stage of train, shadow, certify, widen safe.
A named roster also makes oversight provable. Every approval in the record points to a person on the roster, with authority for that item on that date.
When should you use it?
Before any agent starts holding work for approval. Set it up as part of deployment; the steps are in how to set up named approvers for an AI agent. Update it whenever someone joins, leaves, changes role or has a limit changed, and review it in full quarterly.
Cover for absence uses the same names. The approver absence cover plan picks deputies from this roster, and the guide to covering approver absence for an AI agent's held work explains the rules.
How do you fill in each field?
- Held item type must match the agent's capability list exactly, so routing works.
- Approver is a person, not a team mailbox.
- Approval limit is the highest value or risk level that person may approve for this item type. It must not exceed their limit under your delegated authority framework.
- Training records what the person completed before being added: the agent's held item types, what to check, how to reject.
- Conflicts records reasons a person may not approve, such as configuring the agent or being the requester.
- Start and end dates make rights expire. Temporary approvers, for example during a busy period, should have an end date from day one.
The template
| Field | Guidance |
|---|---|
| Roster entry ID | Reference |
| Agent | Name and ID |
| Held item type | From the capability list |
| Approver | Named person |
| Role | Job title |
| Approval limit | Value or risk level |
| Source of authority | Delegated authority reference |
| Training completed | Course or briefing, date |
| Deputy for | Primary approvers this person covers |
| Conflicts | Roles or items this person may not approve |
| Start date | When rights begin |
| End date | When rights expire or are reviewed |
| Added by | Named manager |
A worked sample
A hypothetical building society's savings servicing agent.
| ID | Item type | Approver | Role | Limit | Training | Deputy for | Conflicts | End date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NA-01 | Withdrawal to a new external account | Approver A | Payments supervisor | 25,000 | Held payments briefing | NA-02 | None | Annual review |
| NA-02 | Withdrawal to a new external account | Approver B | Payments supervisor | 25,000 | Held payments briefing | NA-01 | None | Annual review |
| NA-03 | Withdrawal to a new external account, over 25,000 | Approver C | Head of payments operations | 250,000 | Held payments briefing | NA-01, NA-02 | None | Annual review |
| NA-04 | Early closure of fixed-term account | Approver D | Savings team lead | Any | Product terms briefing | None | Configures the agent's savings brief: may not approve changes to it | Annual review |
| NA-05 | Bereavement account transfer | Approver E | Bereavement team lead | Any | Bereavement procedure | None | None | Annual review |
| NA-06 | Withdrawal to a new external account | Approver F | Temporary payments supervisor | 5,000 | Held payments briefing | None | None | End of tax year peak |
NA-04 shows the conflict field in use: the team lead may approve early closures, but because they maintain part of the agent's brief, they cannot approve changes to it. NA-06 shows a temporary entry with a lower limit and a fixed end date.
Day-to-day handling of the roster, including who updates it and when, belongs in the agent's runbook.
Questions people ask
How many approvers should each item type have?
At least two at each limit level, so one can cover the other. More than five for one item type usually means approvals are being spread too thin to build expertise.
Can an approver's limit for agent items differ from their normal limit?
It can be lower, never higher. Many firms set lower limits for agent-held items at first, then align them once approvers are familiar with the work.
What happens when someone leaves?
Remove them on their last day, through the same leaver process used for system access. Check that every item type they approved still has at least two names.