Every automated workflow needs a place where it stops and a person decides. The question is whether that place is visible and written down, or buried in a confidence threshold nobody can explain to the owner.
Four things that should always reach a person
Money, anger, uncertainty, and anything that commits you in your own name. A system can draft the reply, assemble the record, and hold the thread. It should not send the quote, promise the Thursday slot outside your booking rules, or answer an angry customer on its own.
Rules you can read
The gate is a written rule you signed off at setup: what runs on its own, what waits, and who the named approver is. Routine actions inside those rules run without a tap, including routine money actions such as an invoice under a limit you set. Everything else waits. If a rule cannot be written in plain English, it is not ready to automate.
Key takeaway
Ask any vendor to show you the gate, in writing. If the answer is a score, keep looking.