Skip to main content
The escalation agent is an autonomous internal agent deployed to Slack or another team channel. It receives structured questions from workflows or agents, posts them to reviewers, and returns structured answers to the originating run. Use a Duckie Assistant agent for reporting, run review, and improving Duckie behavior. Do not use a Duckie Assistant agent as the real-time escalation agent for this workflow.

​
What It Does

The escalation agent:
  • Receives approval requests, missing-context questions, or exception alerts
  • Posts concise requests to an internal channel
  • Keeps the original case link and deadline visible
  • Collects reviewer responses
  • Converts the response into structured output
  • Sends the answer back to the workflow or agent that asked
  • Records the escalation in the run history
NeedDuckie component
Human collaborationAutonomous internal agent
Internal channelSlack integration
Structured request and responseWorkflow node or custom tool contract
Approval gateHuman approval workflow
Audit trailRuns and source-system comments

​
Flow

​
When to Escalate

Escalate when:
  • A human must approve external submission
  • The agent has low confidence
  • Required evidence is missing or conflicting
  • The case value exceeds a threshold
  • The deadline is at risk
  • A tool fails repeatedly
  • A reviewer must interpret policy
  • The case includes legal, regulatory, or account ownership concerns

​
Request Format

Each escalation should include:
  • Case ID and source link
  • Deadline and urgency
  • Recommended action
  • Reason for escalation
  • Evidence summary or message draft
  • Risks and missing facts
  • Allowed responses
Example response contract: 
{
  "decision": "approved | changes_requested | rejected | escalate",
  "reviewer": "name or identifier",
  "comments": "short explanation",
  "required_changes": ["item 1", "item 2"]
}

​
Deployment Guidance

Use a dedicated internal channel, such as #dispute-review or #payments-ops-review. Start in Testing mode and route only non-production or replayed cases through the channel until reviewers confirm that the message format is useful.
The escalation agent should be concise. Reviewers should be able to make a decision from the Slack message without opening multiple systems unless the case is complex.

Autonomous Agents

Configure the internal escalation agent.

Slack

Connect Duckie to Slack.

Escalation Rules

Define when cases should be routed to humans.

Deployment Modes

Test human-in-the-loop flows before live use.