Key Concepts
| Concept | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Guardrails | Safety rules that define what Duckie should not do and when it should involve a human |
| Restrictions | Hard limits for topics, claims, or actions Duckie should avoid |
| Escalation Rules | Conditions where Duckie should hand the conversation or decision to a human |
| Human Review | A broader pattern that includes escalations, approvals, testing review, and run audits |
| Approvals | A way to let Duckie prepare sensitive work while a person approves or rejects it before it happens |
| Testing | A safer deployment mode for reviewing behavior before Duckie responds live |
When to Escalate
Escalate when the customer or situation requires human judgment, authority, or empathy:- The customer explicitly asks for a human or manager.
- The customer is angry, abusive, or highly frustrated.
- Legal, regulatory, chargeback, PR, safety, or compliance concerns come up.
- Identity, account ownership, privacy, or account deletion is involved.
- Duckie has low confidence, missing information, or conflicting evidence.
- The request falls outside policy or needs an exception.
- A high-value, VIP, wholesale, or urgent case needs special handling.
- A tool fails repeatedly or the next step could affect money, access, data, or customer trust.
Restriction vs Escalation vs Approval
| Use | When | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Restriction | Duckie should avoid a topic or action but may continue helping | Do not promise refund amounts outside policy |
| Escalation Rule | A human should take over the conversation or decision | Escalate if the customer threatens legal action |
| Requires Approval | Duckie can prepare the action, but a person should approve it before it runs | Issuing a refund, changing account data, submitting an external claim |
Human Review Patterns
| Pattern | How to use it |
|---|---|
| Pre-launch review | Use Test > Playground, Test > Replay Chats, and Test > Batch Test to verify responses, guardrails, and edge cases |
| Safe rollout | Start deployments in Testing with Internal notes only and No write actions before switching to Live |
| Conversation handoff | Use the Escalator tool when Duckie should pass a case to a teammate with context and a clear reason |
| Sensitive action approval | Mark tools as Write Action and enable Requires Approval so a teammate can Approve or Reject before the action runs |
| Ongoing audit | Review Analyze > Runs, especially runs with Escalated resolution or Waiting for Approval status |
| Continuous improvement | Use escalations, failed runs, approval history, and knowledge gaps to refine guardrails, guidelines, knowledge, and instructions |
Examples
- If a customer asks to speak to a person, Duckie escalates instead of continuing the conversation.
- If a customer asks for a refund outside policy, Duckie explains the policy and escalates if an exception is needed.
- If a customer reports unauthorized account access, Duckie stops routine troubleshooting and hands the case to a human.
- If Duckie prepares a sensitive account update, a teammate reviews the action before it runs.
- If Duckie cannot find a confident answer after checking company docs, it asks a clarifying question or escalates with context.
Related Docs
Guardrails
Configure escalation rules and restrictions.
Escalation Rules
Define when Duckie should hand off.
Duckie Tools
Use Escalator, Ask and Wait, and Responder.
Runs
Review escalations, approvals, tool calls, and outcomes.