Definition
Human-in-the-Loop
A design pattern where an AI agent pauses and requests human approval or input before taking high-stakes or irreversible actions.
In Depth
Human-in-the-loop (HITL) is a critical safety pattern for production agent systems. Instead of running fully autonomously, the agent identifies actions that require human judgment — sending an email to a customer, deleting data, spending money — and pauses for approval. This gives you the efficiency of automation for routine work while maintaining human oversight for decisions that matter. Good HITL design minimizes the burden on humans by only escalating when genuinely necessary.
Related Terms
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