An AI approval delegation agent reads each approver's delegation settings, including dates, the delegate and any limits on amount or category, and applies them when an approval is routed.
An approver is on leave or unavailable.
The agent checks who may stand in.
It selects an eligible delegate for the dates.
Delegate authority is compared with request value.
The approver or their lead agrees the delegation.
Dates, scope and delegate are recorded.
When a request would go to an absent approver, it sends it to the valid delegate and notes the substitution on the record and to the original approver.
It reminds approvers to set delegation before planned absences, and flags requests held by someone with no delegation in place.
Approvers are away more often than workflows assume, and each unplanned absence can hold up several requests at once.
Approvers go on leave without naming a delegate, and requests queue behind them.
A verbal 'cover for me' leaves no record of who actually had authority.
A delegate ends up approving above the amount they were meant to handle.
An old arrangement stays active after the approver returns.
Nobody can show who approved on whose behalf and under what authority.
The agent holds each active delegation with its dates, delegate and limits.
When an approval is routed, it checks whether the approver is covered by a delegation.
It redirects only requests within the delegation's limits and flags those above them.
The delegate and the original approver are told, and the substitution is logged.
It prompts for delegation before known absences and ends delegations on their stated date.
Bring a small sample and watch Flo work through it.
| Aspect | By hand | With the agent |
|---|---|---|
| Setting up | Delegation is arranged by email at the last minute. | Eligible delegates are proposed before the absence starts. |
| Authority limits | Delegates approve above their level. | Delegate limits are checked against each request. |
| End dates | Delegation continues after the person returns. | Delegations carry an end date and close on it. |
| Visibility | Requesters do not know who is covering. | The covering approver is shown on the request. |
| Audit | It is unclear who approved under delegation and why. | Each delegated decision is tagged with the delegation record. |
| If | Then | Who decides |
|---|---|---|
| Approver marks leave dates | Propose the named delegate for those dates | Approver confirms |
| Delegate's own limit is below the request value | Flag and show the next eligible delegate | Approver or lead decides |
| Delegation has reached its end date | Close it and return requests to the approver | Approver sees returned items |
| Request needs a role-specific approval | Check the delegate holds the same role | Lead decides if not |
| Approver did not name a delegate | Suggest one from the rules and ask | Approver or lead chooses |
| Delegate is the requester | Do not allow it and propose another | Lead confirms |
The delegate is also away. The agent finds the next eligible person and shows the chain, and the lead confirms it.
Pending items may belong to the approver. The agent lists them and asks the approver whether they move to the delegate or wait.
Some requests, such as ones involving the approver's own team, must not be delegated. The agent holds them and the lead decides.
An approver asks to cover an absence that already began. The agent records it as retrospective and the lead decides whether decisions taken in the gap stand.
Talk it through with the team. We will map it to your steps and show where a person stays in control.
Handle planned leave only, with a named delegate per approver.
Compare delegate authority with each request value.
Add absent-without-notice cases with a lead confirming.
Check closed delegations for late decisions or overreach.
Held approvals = number of approval requests waiting on an approver who is absent with no active delegation, at a point in timeIt shows how often absence blocks requests. A persistent count suggests approvers are not setting delegations before they leave.
Quick answers to what people ask most about approval delegation.
Book a demoIt is the temporary passing of an approver's authority to someone else, for example during leave. An AI agent applies the delegations people have set and keeps a record of each one.
No. It applies delegations that approvers or administrators have set and prompts for new ones. It does not grant authority itself.
The agent holds the request and asks the approver's manager or another authorised person to decide, rather than sending it to someone without authority.
Each substitution is logged with the original approver, the delegate, the dates and the limits, so you can show under whose authority a decision was made.
Approval chain configuration is the work of defining who approves which purchases, in what order and under what conditions.
→An approval reminder is a prompt sent to an approver whose decision is still outstanding on a purchase request.
→Approval routing is the step that decides who must approve a purchase and sends the request to them in the right order.
→Approval escalation is the step that moves an overdue purchase approval to a more senior or alternative approver when the first has not acted.
→Bring a small sample of real items. We will show what Flo handles on its own and where it hands over to your team.
