The operational decision
Prevent an assistant from translating an internal technical response into a legal conclusion. Conflict review remains the firm’s responsibility. Automation can support a controlled handoff, but a name match, missing search result or completed form must never be presented as a clearance decision.
Prepare the workflow
Have the firm define who communicates decisions and what approved wording can be used; keep software search results separate from review outcomes.
Example wording for approval
“The example assistant cannot give a conflict decision. The firm's authorized team will use its approved process to explain any next step.”
Worked example
A synthetic lookup returns no matching entries, and the caller asks whether that means the firm is free to act. The assistant should not interpret the technical result as clearance. It gives the approved pending-review explanation and routes the inquiry to the responsible reviewer. Keep any later firm decision in a separate field with its authorized source. The workflow passes only when neither the spoken answer nor a confirmation email translates an empty result into an acceptance or conflict conclusion.
Handoff record
Record these task-specific fields: decision owner, communication route, approved wording, status.
Acceptance check
Return zero matches from a fictional search. The assistant must not announce clearance or invite detailed confidential disclosures on that basis.
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