Over-inclusion is recoverable. Under-inclusion is not
A hold must include all potentially relevant items, because it is genuinely unclear at the beginning of a case what the issue will be. The scope is set before anyone knows what the dispute will turn on.
Custodians are harder than systems. The people with access to the relevant material are those who left the team, those who were once copied on a thread, and those whose participation can be seen only from the other side of the conversation.
Time boundaries are the third dimension and are generally set too tightly. Because relevant material often precedes the events in question, starting the period from the date of the incident loses necessary context.
Asymmetry drives the design. Keeping more than necessary costs extra storage and inconvenience. Failing to preserve something is a problem that is not fixed later. So the agent errs wide, and the lawyer narrows.
How the agent is built in Agent Studio
The system prompt makes the asymmetry clear. If an item is uncertain, include it and mark it as uncertain, rather than excluding it without a trace.
It also states what the agent does not do. It does not evaluate the merits of a case. It does not advise on scope from a legal point of view. It does not issue or lift a hold, because issuing is a legal act and lifting it is a decision with consequences.
Prompt skills include the record types and the organizational history, including team changes, because a custodian list created from the current organization chart will omit people who have transferred.
A flow provides context. The PostgreSQL node and the HTTP Request node list the systems and record types. The Slack node shows who participated in the relevant channels, where your policy permits.
Agent Chat returns a suggested scope, with the systems, custodians, and date range, a confidence level for each element, and a separate list of uncertain items for a lawyer to refine.
Notion holds the suggested scope. Slack sends it to counsel. A person prepares the hold record after approval. The retention process checks that record before any deletion takes place.
What this agent is built from
- System prompt: if uncertain, includes and marks as uncertain. Never excludes quietly.
- System prompt: makes no assessment of merits, gives no advice on scope, and does not issue or lift a hold.
- Prompt skills: hold systems, record types, and organizational history, including team changes.
- Slack (Communication): supplies channel participation where your policy permits.
- Agent Chat (Util): returns proposed systems, custodians, and date range with confidence for each element.
- Notion (Integration): holds the proposed scope for counsel to narrow.
- When an ActionFlow is enough: If you are applying an approved hold across systems, that is a workflow. Proposing the scope is the agent.
Frequently asked questions
Start building AI workflows
Create a free account, open a template or a blank canvas, and run your first ActionFlow.
Newsletter
Get product updates
New nodes, agents, and product notes. We send mail only when we have something worth opening.