Ambient agents
Autonomy and approvals
Choose how much authority 8rney has before it runs a delegated task
Every Agent Task starts with an autonomy choice. This decides when 8rney can continue on its own and when it must stop for user approval.
Autonomy is task-specific. A lawyer can let 8rney research freely for one task, require approval for each step on another, and give broader authority only when the instruction and limits are clear.
Autonomy choices#
| Choice | Best for | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Approve every step | New workflows, sensitive matters, training a task pattern | 8rney pauses before tool use or action and waits for approval |
| Approve risky actions only | Everyday legal work with normal safeguards | Reading, analysing, and drafting can continue, while sensitive actions pause |
| Full autopilot | Repeated work with explicit limits | 8rney acts inside the approval ceiling and pauses only when the ceiling is exceeded |
Full autopilot is not unlimited permission. It is bounded by the task instructions, workspace policy, identity grants, tool permissions, budget caps, and audit rules.
Approval ceilings#
An approval ceiling is the written authority for the task. You describe what 8rney may do, what it must never do, and which events require escalation.
Good approval ceilings are specific:
- Which tools 8rney may use
- Which actions are forbidden
- Which recipients are allowed or blocked
- Which browser domains are allowed
- Whether external communications are allowed
- Whether destructive actions are allowed
- Whether filings, signatures, payments, or billing actions are allowed
- Maximum runtime and spend
- Escalation triggers for uncertainty, privilege, conflict, client sensitivity, or missing facts
8rney compiles the written ceiling into structured rules and shows them before the task starts.
Examples#
Research-only ceiling#
Research Indian contract law on force majeure. You may search the web,
read workspace documents, and draft a memo. Do not send messages, edit files,
contact anyone, or file anything. Escalate if the answer depends on privileged
facts that are not in the matter.
Internal-status ceiling#
Prepare a status update for the matter team. You may read the matter,
summarise deadlines, and post an internal Slack reply in the matter channel.
Do not message clients, outside counsel, courts, vendors, or opposing counsel.
Morning-report ceiling#
Every weekday at 7 a.m., prepare tomorrow's case brief report for my active
litigation matters. Read matter deadlines, assigned work, uploaded briefs,
and recent research. Create a report artifact and notify me internally.
Do not send external email.
Approval requests#
When 8rney needs approval, it creates an approval request with:
- The action it wants to take
- The reason it paused
- The tool or channel involved
- The identity it would use
- The recipients or destination
- The expected output or side effect
- Approve and deny actions
Approvals can appear in the Task Center, Slack, Teams, email sidebars, or Desk. The decision is recorded in the task audit trail.
External communication defaults#
Internal updates default to the 8rney identity, or to 8rney acting on behalf of the lawyer when that is clearer for the team.
Client-facing communication is selected per task:
| Communication setting | Behaviour |
|---|---|
| Draft only | 8rney writes a draft and waits for a human to send it |
| Send as 8rney on behalf | 8rney sends the message with clear on-behalf wording |
| Send from the lawyer's account | 8rney sends through the lawyer's connected account after the task policy allows it |
Workspace administrators can set stricter defaults for their organisation. A task cannot exceed the workspace policy even if the user asks for broader authority.