# What is Human-in-the-Loop?

> A design where people review or approve an AI's work at key points.

Canonical: https://www.decimal.app/glossary/human-in-the-loop · Last reviewed: 2026-09-23

Human-in-the-loop systems let AI do the work while a person reviews, edits, or approves outputs before they take effect, such as a reply sent to a customer or a code change merged.

## Why it matters

It lets teams adopt AI on high-stakes work without betting everything on accuracy from day one, and it creates a feedback loop that improves the system.

## Best practices

1. Start tight, then loosen. Review everything at first, then auto-approve categories that prove reliable.
2. Make review fast. Show the evidence next to the draft.
3. Keep approvals on actions. Changes to code and data should stay gated.

## How Decimal helps

Decimal runs read-only by default. Replies, escalations, and code changes can each be set to require approval from your team.

## Related terms

- [AI Agent](https://www.decimal.app/glossary/ai-agent): Software that plans, uses tools, and acts toward a goal instead of answering one prompt.
- [Hallucination](https://www.decimal.app/glossary/hallucination): When an AI model states something confident and wrong.
- [Grounding](https://www.decimal.app/glossary/grounding): Tying an AI's answer to specific source material it can cite.

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