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Approvals and Autonomy

Kite does the work. It researches, drafts, builds, sends, and reports back in the thread where the work started. This page explains how Kite decides when to check with you first, how you give the OK, and how to change the setting.

The autonomy setting​

Each team has an autonomy setting that shapes Kite's behaviour:

  • Propose first (the default). Kite proposes and waits for your reply before work that changes public messaging, spends money, or affects legal standing, revenue, or customer retention. Routine, reversible work it just does and tells you about.
  • Act first. Kite acts on clear next steps first, then reports what it did.

Switch between them whenever you like. Propose first is a sensible start; act first is for teams who have seen Kite's work and want it to keep going.

How you give the OK​

  • Reply in the thread. "Publish it," "send it," or "go ahead" is the instruction. Kite treats it as the OK and ships.
  • Click Approve on a proposed initiative. The button tells Kite to break the initiative into tasks and start.
  • Press Publish in the editor. Website drafts arrive in Slack with Preview and Review buttons. Review opens the editor, where you merge and publish yourself if you prefer.

Two things always wait for a person​

Whatever the autonomy setting, two actions are only ever done by a signed-in team member: starting an A/B experiment on your site, and writing content into an external CMS. Kite prepares everything and hands you the button.

Changing a draft​

Reply in the thread with what to change. Be specific: name the section, the sentence, or the tone. Kite revises and posts the new version in the same thread.

Undo​

Kite saves a version of your site after every change, and you can restore to any of them. See Undo changes & version history.

Tips​

  • Give reasons when you redirect Kite. "Too salesy for this audience" teaches it more than a plain no.
  • Keep decisions in the thread. The whole team can see what was agreed and why.
  • Let routine work flow. Kite reports everything it does. Save your attention for the work that changes what customers see.

Troubleshooting​

  • Kite is waiting and you are not sure what for. Read the last message in the thread; with propose first, Kite says what it wants a reply on.
  • Something went live that you did not expect. Check the thread for the reply that asked for it, and check your autonomy setting. Restore the previous version if you need to.