Sort the last month's questions into three piles
Take a month of questions that reached the inbox and sort them into three piles. Pile one is answered by the handbook in one place; pile two is a policy question it does not cover. Pile three is about one person (pay, sickness, a complaint, a contract) and is the one never to automate.
- Pile one: quote the section.
- Pile two: say it is not covered and name who to ask.
- Pile three: a person, always.
Make the handbook the only source
An assistant that answers from general knowledge will sound sure and can be wrong. The Markup reported on 29 March 2024 that New York City's official business chatbot told employers they could take a cut of workers' tips, that they need not give notice of schedule changes and that restaurants could refuse cash; the article says each was wrong. A handbook assistant should quote a section a reader can open, or say it is not covered.
Test the refusals before the answers
Write 20 questions that must go to a person and 20 that the handbook does not cover. An assistant that answers more than one of the 20 not-covered questions has failed, however good its other answers are. Then write 60 questions the handbook does answer, with the section for each, check that the section quoted is the right one, and keep 40 of the 100 back until the test run.
Which paid job fits
If the handbook is out of date, the contradictions report comes first. The handbook answers job tests a cited assistant on 100 questions you write, and the inbox drafts job gives your HR person drafts and no draft at all for individual cases. The monthly service re-tests after handbook changes; none gives HR or legal advice.
Sources and limits
- The Markup: NYC's AI chatbot tells businesses to break the law Checked 2026-10-12.
- Published 29 March 2024: the city's MyCity chatbot told employers they could take a cut of workers' tips, said no regulations required notice of schedule changes and said restaurants could refuse cash; the article says each of these answers was wrong.
- ICO: employment practices, keeping employment records Checked 2026-10-12.
- The guidance has sections on how much personal information can be held, how long workers' information can be kept, and how to handle sickness, injury and occupational health records.
- A banner says that, because of the Data (Use and Access) Act, the guidance is under review and may change.