Guardrails and reviewers

This page shows you how to set the checks a teammate must pass before its work counts as done, and how to pick a teammate who reviews that work — so good results are built in, not hoped for.

In short

• Guardrails are the checks a teammate’s work must pass before it’s marked done — you pick them from a ready-made list, no technical setup.
• A reviewer is another teammate who looks the work over and approves it before it’s finished. Nobody marks their own homework.
• All of this lives in the Controls tab of the Agent Builder, and it only appears after you’ve saved the teammate.
• You don’t have to touch any of it — every teammate already has a sensible reviewer by default.
• This is the same promise as everywhere else: your teammates check each other’s work before calling it done, and nothing sends without your OK.

Every teammate already works safely out of the box. Use this page only when you want to be explicit about who checks a particular teammate’s work and what must be true before it’s considered finished. For the rest of the Agent Builder, see The Agent Builder.

Where this lives

Open the Agent Builder for a teammate you’ve already hired, then open the Controls tab. You’ll find two sections: Reviewers at the top and Validations (the guardrail checks) below it.

*The Controls tab: pick a reviewer at the top, choose which checks must pass below.*

A quick tour of the panel:

1. Reviewers — choose a primary reviewer (and optionally a backup) who approves this teammate’s work.
2. Validations — a checklist of guardrails, grouped by kind, that the work must pass.
3. Save — your changes don’t take effect until you click Save (a small Unsaved note appears while there are changes to save).

The Controls tab only turns on after you save the teammate. If it’s greyed out, you’re looking at a brand-new teammate that hasn’t been created yet — fill in the Config tab, click Create, then come back here.

Pick who reviews the work

Choose a primary reviewer

In the Reviewers card, open the Primary reviewer menu and pick another teammate. Leave it on Default to let the teammate’s manager review the work — that’s the safe choice and it already works.

*Choosing a reviewer — or leaving it on Default to use the manager.*

Add a backup reviewer (optional)

If you want a second pair of eyes, set a Secondary reviewer too. It’s optional — most teammates do fine with just the primary.

Save

Click Save. From now on, when this teammate finishes a piece of work, it goes to the reviewer you chose before it counts as done.

You’ll know it worked when the Unsaved note disappears and your chosen reviewer stays selected after the page settles.

(Recommended) Leave the reviewer on Default. AImetier routes the work up the team — to the teammate’s manager, and onward if that person is busy — so a review never gets stuck waiting on someone who’s unavailable. You only need to set a specific reviewer when you want a particular teammate to be the one checking.

Choose the checks that must pass

Below the reviewers is the Validations list — your guardrails. These are the checks a teammate’s work must clear before it’s marked done. You choose them from a ready-made list by ticking the ones you want; you never write anything technical.

*Tick a check to require it; each one explains in plain words what it confirms.*

Each check has a short description telling you what it confirms — for example, that a piece of content actually produced a deliverable, or that a reviewer has signed off. Tick the ones that matter for this teammate’s job.

Some checks have a Required switch. When a check is marked Required, the work cannot be marked done until that check passes — it’s a hard gate, not a suggestion.

Think of guardrails as “what a finished result looks like” for this teammate. A teammate that writes customer emails might require a reviewer sign-off; a teammate that prepares a document might require that a deliverable exists. Tick what genuinely defines “done” for the job, and leave the rest.

How this makes “done” mean done

Here’s the reassuring part, in plain terms. When a teammate says it has finished, AImetier doesn’t just take its word for it. The required checks have to actually pass, and your chosen reviewer has to approve — only then is the work marked done. We call this work that’s done with evidence: “done” reflects checks that really happened, not a teammate simply claiming so.

So the two settings on this page work together:

• Reviewers decide who gives the thumbs-up.
• Guardrails (validations) decide what has to be true before that thumbs-up can land.

The result is the same promise you’ll see across AImetier: your teammates check each other’s work before calling it done, so what reaches you has already passed a second look.

Ask before sending is ON; nothing goes out without your OK. Guardrails and reviewers raise the quality bar inside your workspace — and on top of that, anything that would leave your workspace (an email, a post, a booking) still waits for your final approval. For how that approval step works, see Trust and safety.

What if it isn’t working?

1. The Controls tab is greyed out — the teammate hasn’t been saved yet. Open Config, click Create, then return to Controls.
2. My changes didn’t stick — make sure you clicked Save; a small Unsaved note shows while there are pending changes.
3. The Required switch won’t turn on — tick the check itself first; the Required switch only applies to a check you’ve enabled.
4. No checks are listed — that’s fine; it means no guardrail checks are set up for this teammate yet. Leave it, and the reviewer step alone keeps quality in place.
5. A teammate’s work seems stuck “in review” — it’s waiting on the reviewer. Leaving the reviewer on Default lets the work climb to the next available manager if the first person is busy.

Still stuck? See Getting help.

FAQ

Do I have to set any of this up?

No. Every teammate already has a sensible reviewer (its manager) by default, and works safely without you touching the Controls tab. Set it up only when you want to be specific about who checks the work or what must pass.

What's the difference between a reviewer and a guardrail?

A reviewer is a who — another teammate who approves the work. A guardrail (validation) is a what — a check that must pass, like “a deliverable exists” or “a reviewer signed off.” They work together: the checks must pass and the reviewer must approve before work is done.

Can a teammate review its own work?

No. The reviewer is always a different teammate — nobody marks their own homework. That’s what makes a second look meaningful.

What does Required do?

When a check is marked Required, the work can’t be marked done until that check passes. It’s a hard gate. Checks that aren’t required are still tracked, but they don’t block “done” on their own.

If I leave the reviewer on Default, who actually reviews?

The teammate’s manager. If that person is unavailable, the work climbs to the next manager up, so a review never gets stuck. That’s why Default is the recommended choice for most teammates.

Does setting a guardrail mean my teammate will send things on its own?

No. Guardrails and reviewers only affect what counts as done inside your workspace. Anything that would leave your workspace still waits for your approval — Ask before sending is ON; nothing goes out without your OK.

Next steps

Trust and safety

The three promises that keep AImetier safe — nothing sends without your OK.

How work flows

Follow a request from “ask” through review to your final OK.

The Agent Builder

The full tour of the tabs where you set up a teammate.

Approvals

Give the final OK on work that’s ready to leave your workspace.