Glossary
Approval hold
Pausing an agent's risky tool call until a named person approves or rejects it, with the decision recorded against that person.
An approval hold is a human-in-the-loop control for actions with real consequences. Instead of letting the agent execute a risky tool call immediately, the call is paused until a named reviewer decides.
Typical candidates for a hold:
- A refund above a ceiling, for example $4,000 against a $2,000 limit.
- A destructive operation, such as a database
DELETE. - A discount, payout or commitment outside policy.
What makes it auditable
The important detail is who the decision is recorded against. In Zespan the approval or rejection is recorded against the reviewer who made it, not against the agent that asked. Each audit entry shows whether a person, an API key or the system acted, and the trail exports as SOC 2 control evidence.
That's what lets you answer the question compliance teams eventually ask: what was this agent allowed to do, and who said yes? More in proving what an agent was allowed to do.