# Human in the Loop

> A design in which a human reviews, approves or corrects an agent's actions at defined checkpoints rather than letting it run fully autonomously.

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- **term:** Human in the Loop
- **category:** core
- **short_def:** A design in which a human reviews, approves or corrects an agent's actions at defined checkpoints rather than letting it run fully autonomously.
- **long_def:** Human-in-the-loop (HITL) inserts a person into the agent's decision cycle — to confirm a high-stakes action (a payment, a delete), label an ambiguous case, or catch an error before it propagates. It trades some autonomy for safety and accountability, and is common where mistakes are costly.
- **see_also:** delegation, ai-agent, agent-as-buyer
- **etymology_origin:** — (verify-against-primary-at-build)
- **related_to:** delegation, ai-agent, agentic-commerce
- **contrast_with:** Unlike a fully autonomous agent that acts without asking, a human-in-the-loop agent pauses at defined checkpoints for a person to approve or reject.
- **example:** An agent authorized to spend money might draft the purchase and require a human's one-click confirmation before the payment is actually sent.
- **source:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human-in-the-loop
- **status:** active
- **why_it_matters:** As agents gain the power to transact on the agentic web, human-in-the-loop checkpoints are the practical control that keeps delegated autonomy safe.
- **sameAs:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human-in-the-loop
- **bridge_entity:** delegation
- **last_verified:** 2026-07-06
- **md_twin:** /glossary/human-in-the-loop.md