When does the AI assistant ask you? Decisions and modes
Human approval in an AI sales assistant: Intern, Senior and Full approval modes, per-chat Approval and Paused, and the Decisions page for what the AI needs.
Every business owner thinking about an AI sales assistant has the same question: "What if it writes something wrong? What if it refunds without asking me?" This post explains in inTusell when the AI assistant writes on its own, when it asks you, and the Decisions page that holds everything it is waiting on from you.
Quick answer
In inTusell three account modes set how much the AI does alone: Intern (the default) sends replies and asks you before cancellations and refunds; Senior handles those too; Full approval waits for your approval on every reply. A single conversation can be set to Approval or Paused. Everything waiting on you sits on Decisions, oldest first.
Why an approval layer?
inTusell is an AI sales assistant and CRM that answers messages on WhatsApp, Instagram and web chat, books appointments and opens orders, and follows each customer through the sales pipeline; it is not a simple chatbot. A chatbot only answers. A sales assistant books appointments, writes orders and cancels them. So the real question is not "how smart is the AI?" but "which jobs does it do without asking whom?"
The answer has two layers: a working mode for the whole account and a separate mode for a single conversation. On top of that sits a page that collects everything the AI is waiting on from you: Decisions.
Account modes: Intern, Senior, Full approval
| Mode | What it does | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|
| Intern (default) | Sends replies itself; asks you before it cancels or refunds | The starting point for most businesses |
| Senior | Sends replies; also handles cancellations and refunds without asking you | High-volume businesses that trust the AI’s decisions |
| Full approval | On WhatsApp, Instagram and Telegram every reply waits for your approval first; web chat replies go out directly | The first days, sensitive periods, schools and nurseries |
You choose the mode on My business › Instructions › AI Settings › "Advanced AI Settings". New accounts start as Intern; school and nursery accounts start in Full approval.
Anything involving money also goes through payment checks in every mode: an order or refund is not written until the customer clearly confirms it in the chat. In Intern mode a cancellation or refund is also put to you after the customer confirms, and it does not happen until you approve. Legal and sensitive topics are handed to your team in every mode.
Promotion is a suggestion
If an account in Full approval mode passes a threshold over the last 30 days of drafts, the product suggests moving to Intern: at least 50 drafts reviewed one by one, at least 90 percent approved without changes, at most 3 percent rejected and at most 5 percent handed to the team. Promotion from Intern to Senior is also a suggestion; you make the call. You can change the mode yourself at any time.
Conversation modes: for a single customer
The account mode is the general rule; sometimes a single customer needs different treatment. For that you pick one of four modes from inside the conversation, and the change applies only to that conversation:
- Live: the AI replies to the customer itself.
- Approval: the AI drafts the reply, and nothing goes out until you approve it.
- Shadow: the AI produces a reply but nothing is sent; it is for watching the AI.
- Paused: the AI stays completely silent in that conversation.
When you write a reply by hand from the panel, the AI also stops in that conversation and does not write over you.
The Decisions page: everything waiting on you in one list
Decisions sits in the second row of the menu, above Conversations. It shows everything waiting for your decision in one list, oldest first:
| Item | When it appears | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| Handoff | The customer asks for a person or the AI hands the conversation to the team | Open the conversation and take over |
| AI paused | A customer wrote in a conversation where the AI is paused and got no answer | Let the AI continue or write yourself |
| Action awaiting approval | In Intern mode the AI is about to cancel or refund | Approve or reject |
| Reply draft | In Full approval or Approval mode the AI drafted a reply | Approve, edit or reject |
| Receipt | The customer sent a payment receipt | Approve the payment |
| Payment claim | The customer wrote "I paid" without a receipt | Check your account |
| FAQ suggestion | A question customers ask often is not in the knowledge base | Approve it and it goes into the knowledge base |
| WhatsApp line | A QR-connected line dropped | The link opens the QR window |
Each item shows the customer’s last message, how long it has been waiting, the deadline if there is one, and what happens if you do not decide. For example, if you do not decide on a refund awaiting approval in Intern mode, the refund is not made.
A few details:
- "Let the AI continue" only lifts the pause; the AI picks up at the customer’s next message and does not answer the waiting message on its own. If you want to answer now, open the conversation and write yourself.
- If you muted the AI for a person and that person writes without a reply from the panel within 2 hours, a separate item appears.
- When you reply from your phone on WhatsApp, the card disappears on its own; the reply’s content is not saved to the panel, only the moment you replied is marked.
- Owners, admins and agents see the page; viewers do not. There is no counter in the menu and the page sends no notifications.
What happens when the AI does not know?
The AI does not make up what it does not know. If it is asked for a price, a time or a condition that is not in the knowledge base, the business information or a connected catalog, it hands the conversation to your team; the handoff lands on the Decisions page with the full history, so the customer does not have to start over. A handoff left unresolved for 24 hours sends your team a reminder, and at 72 hours the conversation returns to the AI.
If the same question keeps coming, it shows up on Decisions as an FAQ suggestion; once you approve it, it goes into the knowledge base and the AI answers it next time.
Which mode to start with?
- Most businesses start with Intern. The AI sends replies and asks you about irreversible actions that move money.
- If you are not sure in the first days, start with Full approval. By approving and editing drafts for a while you see how the AI writes; once the threshold is passed, the product suggests Intern.
- Handle a sensitive customer per conversation. Instead of changing the whole account, switch that conversation to Approval or Paused.
- Look at Decisions a few times a day. The oldest item is at the top, and every item says what happens if you do not decide.
What it isn’t
- It is not a system that makes you approve every message. Full approval is on only if you choose it; the default is Intern.
- It is not a panel that floods you with notifications. The Decisions page sends none; items wait for you.
- It is not an uncontrolled auto-responder. Irreversible actions such as cancellations and refunds go through your approval in Intern mode, and legal and sensitive topics go to the team in every mode.
Frequently asked questions
Does the AI write to customers without my approval?
It depends on the mode you choose. New accounts start as Intern: the AI sends replies itself and asks you before it cancels or refunds. In Full approval mode every reply on WhatsApp, Instagram and Telegram waits for your approval; web chat replies go out directly.
What is the Decisions page?
It is the single list, oldest first, of everything waiting for your decision: a customer asking for a person, a paused conversation, a receipt or reply draft awaiting approval, a cancellation or refund awaiting approval, an FAQ suggestion for the knowledge base and a dropped WhatsApp line. Each item says what happens if you do not decide.
How do I move from Intern to Senior?
You can change the mode at any time on My business › Instructions › AI Settings › Advanced AI Settings. The product may suggest a promotion, but promotion from Intern to Senior is a suggestion; you make the call.
How do I stop the AI for a single customer?
Switch that conversation to Paused from inside it; the AI does not write in it at all. In Approval mode the AI drafts a reply but nothing goes out until you approve; in Shadow mode it produces a reply but sends nothing. The change applies to that conversation only.
What does the AI do with a question it cannot answer?
It does not make anything up. If it is asked about something that is not in the knowledge base or the business information, it hands the conversation to your team; the handoff lands on the Decisions page with the full history. Legal and sensitive topics go to the team in every mode.
Does the Decisions page send me notifications?
The page itself sends no notifications and there is no counter in the menu; items wait for you there. For a handoff left unresolved for 24 hours your team gets a reminder according to notification preferences, and at 72 hours the conversation returns to the AI.
Next step
The shortest way to see how it works in your business is the 14-day trial: no credit card is needed, and you can start in Full approval and approve the drafts yourself in the first days. Find the setup for your sector on the solutions page and plan details on the pricing page. Payment and receipt approval is covered in detail in the bank transfer and deposit tracking post.
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