AI to Production · tool 6 of 9
Human in the Loop
Human in the Loop: decides where people must stay in control.
Best for: Designing an AI workflow · Time: 2 hours
Domain: Across all domains · Focus area: Planning
How it works
Pick a level of oversight according to the cost of an error: humans do it with AI drafts, humans approve, humans sample, or humans are only alerted. PMBOK 8 frames AI use in similar terms: automation, assistance and augmentation.
- The higher the stakes, the more review.
- Reviews must be genuinely possible at that volume.
- Name who’s accountable.
How to apply it
- Map decisions in the process.
- Rate the harm of a wrong answer.
- Set review levels.
- Monitor how often people override it.
AI drafts a customer reply; an agent approves. AI tags tickets automatically, and 5% are sampled.
If reviewers approve 99.9% in two seconds, you don’t have a human in the loop.
Use it
- Playbook: Our AI gave a harmful answer
- Case study: Zillow Offers
- Case study: Air Canada Chatbot
Quick check
Who stays accountable for a decision made using AI?
Sources
- PMBOK® Guide, 8th edition, and The Standard for Project Management (PMI, 2025)
- NIST AI Risk Management Framework 1.0 (2023) and Generative AI Profile, NIST AI 600-1
Last reviewed 2026-11-02 against the PMBOK® Guide, 8th edition · Practitioner review pending · How this guide is made