Building Human in the Loop Automations with BuildShip

Why Human in the Loop Matters in Automation

• Error prevention: AI isn’t perfect. A quick human check can catch misfires before they scale.

• Context and nuance: Humans add judgment, especially in sensitive scenarios like approvals or personalized communications.

• Accountability & transparency: HITL nodes create clear checkpoints in your automation, boosting clarity and trust.

Where Human in the Loop Fits In a Workflow

Typically, HITL appears at branching or decision points. This is how a workflow with Human in the Loop looks like:

1. Trigger event (e.g. a support request coming in, or a new feature request by users)

2. Automation processes data (like summarizing or formatting content)

3. HITL node pauses execution and sends a message via Email or Slack, requesting review or confirmation

4. Human responds (approve, edit, provide input), triggering the next step

5. Workflow resumes, continuing based on the human’s input

For example, a draft email generated via AI can be sent to a team member via the Human in the loop nodes for approval before actually being sent out. Or a flagged alert in production may wait for confirmation before escalation.

BuildShip supports Human in the loop nodes for sending marketing or transactional emails and Slack nodes for sending messages, both usable in hit-pause workflows

Pre-requisites & Setting Up

Human in the Loop - Slack Version

STEP 1: Installing the App

Head to your Slack client and click on “Add Apps” at the very bottom of your workspace. This would let you search through the Slack Marketplace. Search for “BuildShip Agent Bot”.

OR

Click on this link to find the BuildShip Agent Bot on the Slack Marketplace to add to your workspace directly.

STEP 2: Add App to your Channel (or not!)

To add the app to a channel, click on the channel name at the top. Navigate to the Integrations section and click on Add an App. Search for BuildShip Agent Bot, and click Add. This would add the app to your channel.

You could even start a 1:1 conversation with the bot if you do not wish to add it to a channel for a direct message experience.

STEP 3: Take a note of the Channel

You can check the Channel ID directly from the channel settings (by clicking on the channel name) as shown in the GIF above.

Or, directly check it from the last segment of the URL in the address bar.

That is everything you need to do to set up your Slack App. Next, let’s go to BuildShip App and start building!

STEP 4: Configuring the Node

The Slack Human in the Loop node takes in the following properties as input:

1. Channel ID

   From the dropdown, select the channel you added the app to. If you are using a 1:1 conversation, select the DM option with the channel ID.

   

2. Subject

   This is the subject of the message that will be sent to the channel or user. It can be a simple text like "Review Required" or something more descriptive.

   This input supports markdown formatting.

3. Context

   This is the main content of the message. It can include details about the task, request, or any other information that needs human input. You can use variables from previous nodes to make it dynamic. Pass in the generated email content or any other relevant information here.

   This input supports markdown formatting.

4. Question

   This is the question that will be asked to the user. It should be clear and concise, prompting the user for the specific input you need. For example, "Do you approve this request?" or "Please review the following content".

   This input supports markdown formatting.

5. Response Type

   This defines how the user can respond. You can choose from:

   • Conditional: The user can respond with a simple "Yes" or "No" to approve or reject the request. This involves a simple button click experience. For the dynamic options for this input, you get to customize the button labels for Yes and No buttons.

   • Structured: The user can provide a free-text response. This is useful when you need detailed feedback or comments. The user can type in their response directly. Internally, this information would be processed into the structured format for further use in the workflow. Users can define the schema of the JSON in the dynamic options for this input.

6. Customization Options

   For the customization options, you can provide multiple Images to be sent along with the message. This can be useful for providing context or additional information visually.

The node comes prefilled with a Support Email Approval template. Modify it as required. Here’s what the template looks like:

Human in the Loop - Email Version

If you’re interested in using the Email version of the Human in the Loop node, head directly to BuildShip App. No set up steps required.

The node comes prefilled with a Support Email Approval template. Modify it as required. Here’s what the template looks like: