Scope at a glance
Example scope: request preparation
- Job
- Organize a submitted request, identify missing context, and make it available to an accountable reviewer.
- Approved inputs
- The information knowingly submitted for the request and the agreed routing rules. If an AI preparation step is used, disclose exactly which information it receives.
- Out of scope
- Deciding eligibility, hiding plausible inquiries, making commitments, inferring sensitive traits, or sending a substantive reply without human review.
- Prepared output
- The original request, clearly labeled routing information, and any optional preparation separated from the source text.
- Human review
- A person reads the request, checks any prepared material, and decides what response is appropriate.
Separate preparation from the decision.
Software may help organize a queue, but a category or summary should not quietly decide who deserves a response. Rules should distinguish proven abuse from an uncertain but plausible customer question.
AI is optional. Clear ownership, visible status, and reliable notification may solve the immediate problem without a model call.
Ask for only what the conversation needs.
A name, a reply address, and a short question may be enough for first contact. Company and timing can remain optional when they are not required to accept the request.
If AI is later introduced for a separate workflow, define the purpose, information sent, provider handling, review, and retention before using it.
Make uncertain cases visible.
Unclear intent, a missing detail, a generic keyword, or a sensitive question should not silently make an ordinary inquiry disappear. Give the accountable reviewer enough information to decide.
- Missing context that needs a follow-up question
- Conflicting or unclear instructions
- Privacy or security requests
- Questions outside the advertised offer
- Any proposed commitment on price, scope, or timing
Keep the original request available.
If a workflow prepares a summary or draft, the reviewer must still be able to inspect the original. Preparation should not overwrite the source or obscure uncertainty.
Acceptance, receipt delivery, and owner notification are separate events. A message can be accepted even if an email provider is temporarily unavailable.
Use this in practice
Before changing an intake workflow
Name the required fields and remove unnecessary barriers.
Preserve server validation, abuse controls, durable acceptance, and duplicate protection.
Notify the owner about plausible inquiries; do not rely on broad keywords to decide commercial intent.
Keep receipt and notification failures visible without encouraging duplicate submissions.
Disclose any AI processing accurately, and do not imply consent that was never given.
Define retention and human responsibility for the response.
Questions
Questions about this example
Does this website use AI to review new inquiries?+
No. New inquiries are accepted without model processing or AI-generated reply drafts. Sergey reviews the message.
Can an automated rule reject a request?+
Abuse controls can reject proven automated abuse. An uncertain or ordinary commercial question should be surfaced for human review rather than silently discarded.
Can an acknowledgment be automatic?+
A fixed acknowledgment can confirm receipt. It should not make commitments or stand in for the person's substantive reply.