Step 01
Check the purpose
Does this deliver the requested outcome, and is the scope still the one you agreed? Reviewing a draft is useful; approving an action also requires its destination, recipients, timing and exact version. “Looks good” can be ambiguous unless the next action is clear.
Step 02
Check the evidence
Trace material claims, dates, names and quotations to appropriate sources. Make uncertainty visible. If an approved transcript conflicts with a promotional summary, resolve the difference before releasing the work. A fluent answer is not evidence that a claim is correct.
Step 03
Check the information and audience
Confirm that every input and output is appropriate for the intended audience. Remove private material that does not belong in the deliverable. A draft prepared for an internal team may need a different review before becoming a public page or a message to attendees.
Step 04
Check the exact action
Show the destination, recipients, timing and version together. Give the assistant only the access it needs. Some low-impact, reversible actions can have standing authorization, but define those limits in advance. A new audience, wider access, changed cost or materially different output should trigger a fresh decision.
Step 05
Name the authorized reviewer
Confirm that the person approving the action has the authority to do so. Record the approval and the changes that would invalidate it. A substituted image, edited quotation or different recipient list can change the decision. Adapt this checklist to your organization’s responsibilities and policies.
Step 06
Plan verification and recovery
Decide how you will know the action worked and who responds if it fails. A successful draft-generation message does not prove publication. Ask for a live link or reliable receipt. Test the handoff with a missing source, a changed destination and a failed action to see whether review controls what happens next.
A worked example
Event publishing: approve the complete package
All Things AI describes using AI for its website, conference software, video editing and advertising while people retain review and publication decisions. In this illustrative recap workflow, an assistant drafts from an approved transcript. The editor checks the speaker’s meaning, then reviews the final copy, image, caption, destination and scheduled time together. Approval covers that package. If the assistant changes the image or rewrites a quotation afterward, it returns for review. This example applies the published principle; it is not an account of a measured event workflow.
Make it your own
Your working template
Proposed action: [publish / send / update / other] Exact item and version: [link, revision or attached draft] Destination and audience: [where it goes and who can see it] Timing: [now or a specified time and timezone] Evidence checked: [sources and tests] Open questions: [none, or issues that must be resolved] Approver: [authorized person] Decision: [approve / revise / decline] Limits: [changes that require another approval] Completion evidence: [result link or receipt] Recovery owner and action: [who responds and how]
Common questions
Does every AI response need approval?
No. Match review to the consequences. Private brainstorming usually needs a different boundary from publishing, spending money or changing access.
Can the same person request and approve the work?
Sometimes. Your organization’s rules and the action’s consequences determine whether independent approval is required. Name the responsible role rather than assuming someone will check.
What should an approval record contain?
Record the exact action and version, destination, audience, timing, evidence checked, authorized approver, decision and limits. Add completion evidence and a recovery owner after execution.
Sources and next steps
The event links document the teaching and work behind these ideas. Worked exercises are illustrative; they are not measured event results.
All practical guides