Withheld is the verdict given when an AI agent attempts an action that exists and works, but is refused on purpose at the platform floor for every agent at every depth. No certificate, customer setting or approval can open it to an agent. Reversing a settled payment on our own rail is one such action.
Why does withheld exist?
Some actions are too consequential, too hard to undo or too open to abuse to hand to any agent, however well it performs. If they were simply a high depth level, a strong certification result or a generous customer setting could eventually reach them. Withholding takes them off the table entirely, so the question never arises.
It also makes the boundary visible. An action that silently does not exist teaches people nothing. An action that is withheld, with a filed verdict saying so, shows exactly where the platform draws its line and that an agent tried to cross it.
How does it work in practice?
Withheld is one of four verdicts the minimum chain can return:
| Verdict | What it means | Who can change it |
|---|---|---|
| Allowed | Within every bound; the action proceeds | Not applicable |
| Held | Drafted and waiting for a named person | The person, by approving or refusing |
| Refused | Outside this agent's bounds: role, certificate, sources or the customer's limits | The customer, by changing the agent's role, evidence or limits |
| Withheld | Refused at the platform floor for all agents | No one, for an agent; a person must do it directly |
The full comparison is in allowed, held, refused, withheld.
The key rule: withheld is a platform decision, not a customer setting. Customers narrow what agents may do through their own limits, and actions they rule out are refused or held. Only the platform floor withholds.
What does an example look like?
A payments agent at a business bank is asked by a customer to reverse yesterday's settled payment because the invoice was wrong. The action exists, and the bank's operations staff can do it through the proper process. The agent's request comes back withheld. The agent tells the customer the request has been passed to a person, raises a case for the operations team, and the verdict, with the platform guardrail named as the deciding bound, is filed. A person handles the reversal under the bank's own controls.
How is withheld different from refused?
Refused is specific to one agent and one customer: this agent, under these bounds, may not do this. A different agent, or the same agent with more evidence or a looser customer limit, might be allowed. Withheld applies to every agent everywhere. It does not reflect a shortcoming in the agent; it reflects a decision that the action belongs with people.
That difference shapes what you do next. A pattern of refusals may mean an agent needs a better brief or more evidence. A withheld verdict means the process needs a human route, and the agent's job is to hand off cleanly.
How should you track withheld actions?
Keep a list of what is withheld on your platform, why, and what the human route is for each. The withheld actions register template gives a format. Review withheld verdicts as you would any other signal: a rising number may mean customers are asking agents for things only staff can do, and the hand-off needs work. This is part of how agent governance keeps the most serious actions with people.
Questions people ask
Can a customer withhold an action for its own agents?
Not in the platform sense. A customer can set its own limits so that an action is always refused or always held for its agents, which has a similar practical effect but stays under the customer's control.
Does a withheld verdict mean something went wrong?
Not necessarily. Often the agent was simply asked for something only a person may do. It is worth reviewing, but it is the control working as designed.