An AI app approval agent reads the app request and checks it against existing tools to see whether the need is already covered, whether a licence is unused and whether a preferred alternative exists.
Reads the app, purpose, users and data involved.
Existing tools and contracts.
Finds tools that already do the same job.
Collects data and access details for reviewers.
They approve, require changes or decline.
Adds the approved app to the inventory with an owner.
It collects the facts reviewers need, such as the data the app will touch, the sign-in method, the pricing model and the vendor's security documents.
It routes the case to IT, security and the budget owner in the right order and records the decision, conditions and who the app owner will be.
Teams adopt apps with a card or a free trial, and IT learns about them months later. Each one adds cost, data exposure and another login, yet each looks harmless when requested.
Three teams buy similar tools because nobody checked the catalogue.
Data enters an app before anyone reviewed it.
Some apps get a deep check and others none, depending on who noticed.
A new seat is bought while spare ones exist elsewhere.
Nobody is named to manage the app, users or renewal.
The agent extracts the app, purpose, users, data involved, expected cost and trial status.
It compares the request with the current app inventory and contracts to find equivalent tools and unused licences.
It collects what IT and security need: authentication method, data categories, hosting location and the vendor's security documents.
The case goes to IT, security and the budget owner in the order your policy sets, each seeing the relevant part.
The decision, conditions and a named app owner are saved, and the app is added to the inventory when approved.
Bring a small sample and watch Flo work through it.
| Aspect | By hand | With the agent |
|---|---|---|
| Overlap check | Teams buy a tool IT already pays for under another name. | The agent compares the request with the app inventory and contracts. |
| Security facts | Reviewers ask the same questions of every requester. | Data types, access and integrations are collected up front. |
| Cost visibility | Price and renewal terms emerge after signing. | Cost, term and auto-renewal are shown in the request. |
| Ownership | Apps are adopted with no named owner. | An owner is required before approval can complete. |
| Shadow adoption | Unapproved apps are found through card statements later. | Requests surface earlier because the route is quicker and clearer. |
| If | Then | Who decides |
|---|---|---|
| A similar approved app already exists | Show it and ask the requester why it is not enough | IT application owner |
| App will access company or customer data | Start the security and privacy review | Security lead |
| App requires single sign-on or admin rights | Add an identity review step | IT operations |
| Price is above the self-service limit | Route to budget owner and finance | Finance approver |
| App has an auto-renewing term | Record the renewal date and notice period | Procurement lead |
| Requester is not the intended business owner | Ask for a named owner who will run the app | Department head |
The agent records that no payment is needed but data may still be shared. Security decides whether it needs approval.
Small add-ons can access a lot of data. The agent asks the same data questions and IT decides if it is covered by existing approvals.
The agent notes the trial end date and what happens at conversion. The owner decides before any trial turns into a paid plan.
The agent shows who uses it and suggests joining the existing contract. Procurement and both teams decide whether to merge.
Talk it through with the team. We will map it to your steps and show where a person stays in control.
Start from the app list and contracts so overlap can be checked at all.
Have the agent produce overlap and data summaries for each new request.
Send low-risk apps through a short path and higher-risk ones through full review.
Use renewal dates and usage notes to feed later re-approval.
A low rate shows approval is being bypassed. Compare it with the number of apps discovered after the fact.
Quick answers to what people ask most about app approval.
Book a demoIt is the process of deciding whether a new software application may be used in the company, taking in business need, cost, security and overlap with existing tools. It happens before adoption, not after.
It compares the request with your inventory of apps and contracts, looking at purpose and features. Results depend on the quality of that inventory, so it reports what it matched on.
No. It gathers evidence and routes the request. Your IT and security teams decide, and any technical blocking is done by your own systems.
Usually yes if they handle company or customer data. The cost may be zero, but the exposure is not, so many teams review by data sensitivity rather than price.
Supplier approval is the decision to allow a company to be used as a vendor after reviewing its risk, documents and business need.
→Procurement policy compliance is the degree to which purchases follow your written buying rules, such as approval limits, quote requirements and preferred suppliers.
→Contract approval routing is sending a contract through the internal reviewers it needs before signature, such as legal, finance, security and an executive sponsor.
→A procurement audit trail is the connected record of everything that happened on a purchase from request to payment.
→Bring a small sample of real items. We will show what Flo handles on its own and where it hands over to your team.
