# Point an agent at the order exceptions, not the routine work

PaperChase agent use case (free feed entry), version 1.0. Source: [u/Puzzled-Effort-9319 on r/AI_Agents](https://www.reddit.com/r/AI_Agents/comments/1xfz5la/most_businesses_dont_need_a_more_autonomous_ai/), 2026-10-26.

## What they did

The author argues most businesses do not need a more autonomous agent. Their routine orders were already handled by existing rules, while exceptions (address problems, stock mismatches, payment holds) ate a person's day. They had the agent prepare a proposed fix for each exception with the reasoning attached, and a person clicks approve or reject. They also kept the old manual workarounds that act as checks, rather than removing them as clutter.

## Worth knowing

Start where the human time actually goes. Exceptions are a good fit because each one is small, the fix is reviewable, and a wrong draft costs one click to reject. Before deleting an old workaround, ask whether it was quietly checking something. Time savings are the author's estimate.

## Workflow template

```text
Apply this workflow to [your project]:
1. Count a week of exceptions by type and how long each takes a person
2. Pick the most common type and write down what a correct fix looks like
3. Have the agent draft the fix with its reasoning, never apply it
4. Add one-click approve and reject, and log every rejection with a reason
5. Keep any old workaround that verifies something until you know what it checks
Stop and ask me before anything irreversible: deploys, payments, sends or deletes.
```

## Steps

1. **Count a week of exceptions by type and how long each takes a person.** Count a week of exceptions by type and how long each takes a person
2. **Pick the most common type and write down what a correct fix looks like.** Pick the most common type and write down what a correct fix looks like
3. **Have the agent draft the fix with its reasoning, never apply it.** Have the agent draft the fix with its reasoning, never apply it
4. **Add one-click approve and reject, and log every rejection with a reaso.** Add one-click approve and reject, and log every rejection with a reason
5. **Keep any old workaround that verifies something until you know what it.** Keep any old workaround that verifies something until you know what it checks

## Credit

Workflow reported by u/Puzzled-Effort-9319 on r/AI_Agents: https://www.reddit.com/r/AI_Agents/comments/1xfz5la/most_businesses_dont_need_a_more_autonomous_ai/

Summary and template written by PaperChaseWebb in our own words. Questions: mgmt@paperchasewebb.com