The operational decision
Prevent the assistant from choosing between incompatible consultation or routing policies. An intake assistant needs a controlled set of firm facts and instructions. Old practice descriptions, informal staff comments and draft policies should not compete with the current approved script.
Prepare the workflow
Escalate disagreements to the policy owner, retire the superseded text and record the final scope; do not blend both versions into a new policy.
Example wording for approval
“The example instructions disagree about consultation availability. Staff must confirm the correct policy before the assistant gives a definitive answer.”
Worked example
One fictional source says consultations are by staff confirmation, while another says any selected slot is reserved. Do not let the assistant reconcile the conflict by saying usually confirmed. The policy owner should decide which process is actually configured and retire the incompatible wording. Test the request form, phone answer and acknowledgment afterward. A corrected knowledge paragraph is not enough if a separate success message continues to tell visitors that a pending preference is already a booked meeting.
Handoff record
Record these task-specific fields: conflicting sources, policy owner, pending decision, resolution.
Acceptance check
Provide two different fee policies in test material. The assistant should use an approved fallback rather than averaging amounts or choosing the newer-looking text.
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