> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.exterview.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Agent Inbox

> Upcoming: the one queue where work that needs a person lands. Two item types only: reports to view and schedules to accept. What each one will ask, how you will answer, and what never appears there.

<Info>
  **Upcoming.** The Agent Inbox is part of the [agent swarm](/smaya/agent-swarm)
  role run, which is Upcoming. Items reach the Inbox only when a role run raises
  them, so there is nothing to answer there yet. This page describes how the
  Inbox is designed to work. Today you review candidate reports and record
  decisions, with a reason, in the Decision Center.
</Info>

## Purpose

The **Agent Inbox** is where your AI workforce will bring you the work that needs a person. Smaya does the work. You answer Inbox items.

It holds two things and nothing else: a **report to view** or a **schedule to accept**.

## The two item types

| Item type              | What it is asking                              | Why a person is needed                      | Your answers            |
| ---------------------- | ---------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------- | ----------------------- |
| **Report to view**     | "Here is what I found, did or concluded."      | It is the evidence you decide on            | Proceed · Drop · Talk   |
| **Schedule to accept** | "Here is a slot with this candidate. Take it?" | It commits recruiter, manager or panel time | Accept · Decline · Talk |

Each item will show a short summary of why it is there, the candidate and role, and a link to the full report or the proposed slot.

## What each answer does

<CardGroup cols={3}>
  <Card title="Proceed or Accept" icon="check">
    The candidate moves to the next step. On a schedule, the slot is booked.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Drop or Decline" icon="x">
    The candidate leaves the queue, on record, with your name and your reason. A
    Drop never marks a candidate rejected.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Talk" icon="message-circle">
    You want to speak with the candidate before deciding. The run waits for you.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

Every answer will be recorded with who gave it, when and why. An item can be answered once. A second answer to the same item is refused, so two people cannot decide the same thing twice.

Talk booking a call with the candidate, or joining a live AI interview, directly from the answer is also part of the Upcoming design.

## When reports are raised

As designed, a report is raised at five moments in each candidate's journey. A schedule is raised when the panel needs a slot, or when a candidate asks to speak to a person.

| Moment                      | Item type          | If nobody answers   |
| --------------------------- | ------------------ | ------------------- |
| Profile identified          | Report to view     | Continues by policy |
| Outreach reply              | Report to view     | Continues by policy |
| Phone call taken            | Report to view     | Continues by policy |
| AI interview conducted      | Report to view     | Holds for you       |
| Panel availability          | Schedule to accept | Holds for you       |
| Candidate asks for a person | Schedule to accept | Holds for you       |

The Continues-by-policy windows are part of the Upcoming design. When the Inbox is live, every item will wait for a person until those windows are switched on.

## Defaults, in plain words

* **Upcoming. The first three reports keep moving.** If you do not answer a profile, reply or phone-call report within its waiting window, the candidate moves on, and the record shows it continued by policy. Waiting there would stall every candidate behind you. You can still Drop a candidate at any time.
* **The AI interview report waits for you.** It is the decision, so nothing moves until a person answers.
* **Every schedule waits for you.** A slot commits someone's time, so it is never accepted on your behalf.

Items marked **Continues by policy** will move forward when their window runs out. Items marked **Holds for you** wait for a person.

```mermaid theme={null}
%%{init: {'theme':'base','themeVariables':{'primaryColor':'#EEF2FF','primaryBorderColor':'#4B6CFE','primaryTextColor':'#0F172A','lineColor':'#64748B','clusterBkg':'#F8FAFC','clusterBorder':'#E2E8F0'}}}%%
flowchart LR
  RAISE(["Raised by a role run (Upcoming)"]) -.-> ITEM([Item waiting in your Inbox])
  ITEM --> REP([Report to view])
  ITEM --> SCH([Schedule to accept])
  REP --> A1([Proceed · Drop · Talk])
  SCH --> A2([Accept · Decline · Talk])
  A1 --> WHY([Drop or Decline asks your reason])
  A2 --> WHY
  WHY --> REC([Answer recorded with your name])
  REC -.-> MOVE(["Candidate moves on (Upcoming)"])
  ITEM -.-> POL(["Window runs out: continues by policy (Upcoming)"])
```

*Upcoming. How an Inbox item will be answered, once. Dotted steps are the parts that depend on a live role run.*

## How it will work

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the Agent Inbox">
    Select **Agent Inbox** in the sidebar. Your dashboard will also show an Agent Inbox card with what is waiting.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Read the summary">
    Each item says why it is there. Open the report or the proposed slot when you
    need the full evidence.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Answer">
    Choose Proceed, Drop or Talk on a report, or Accept, Decline or Talk on a
    schedule. A Drop or a Decline asks for your reason.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Answer from your assistant, if you prefer">
    A connected assistant will be able to answer an Inbox item for you over MCP, with the same record. See [Microsoft & Interoperability](/smaya/mcp).
  </Step>
</Steps>

## What never appears in the Inbox

The Inbox asks you about candidates and slots. It never asks you to approve the work in between.

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="No outreach approvals" icon="send">
    You will not be asked to approve each message. Upcoming: the run reaching candidates on its own, on the channel their region allows.
  </Card>

  <Card title="No setup approvals" icon="sliders">
    Scoring criteria, interview design and the agent's role for a job are agreed
    before a run starts, not inside it.
  </Card>

  <Card title="No run approvals" icon="play">
    A run does not stop to ask whether it may continue. You start it once.
  </Card>

  <Card title="No activity feed" icon="activity">
    Interview updates, candidate engagement, exceptions and system events belong to the Swarm Control Plane, which is Upcoming. They are not Inbox items.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## What is Available today

| Capability                                                                               | Status        |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------- |
| Candidate reports in the Decision Center, with a reason on every decision change         | **Available** |
| The Inbox queue: reports to view and schedules to accept                                 | **Upcoming**  |
| Proceed · Drop · Talk and Accept · Decline · Talk, with the decider and reason on record | **Upcoming**  |
| Agent Inbox card on the dashboard                                                        | **Upcoming**  |
| Answering an Inbox item from a connected assistant over MCP                              | **Upcoming**  |
| Reports raised at all five moments by a full role run                                    | **Upcoming**  |
| Continue-by-policy windows at every report moment                                        | **Upcoming**  |
| Talk booking a call with the candidate                                                   | **Upcoming**  |
| Agent Inbox cards in Microsoft Teams                                                     | **Upcoming**  |

## FAQs

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Can I use the Agent Inbox today?">
    Not yet. Items reach the Inbox only from a role run, which is Upcoming. Today you review reports and record decisions in the Decision Center.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can an Inbox answer reject a candidate?">
    No. A Drop is your decision on record and moves the candidate out of the
    queue. It never sets a candidate to rejected. Hiring outcomes are always set
    by a person.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What happens if I am away?">
    Every item waits for a person. Upcoming: the first three reports continue by
    policy, and the record shows that.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Why only two item types?">
    Because everything else runs on its own. If you are asked about something, it is because there is evidence to decide on or a slot that needs someone's time.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Related

<div className="kb-links">
  *   <span className="kb-ico">
        <Icon icon="network" />
      </span>
    [The Agent Swarm](/smaya/agent-swarm). How a role run is designed to work, end
    to end.
  *   <span className="kb-ico">
        <Icon icon="id-card" />
      </span>
    [AI Employees](/smaya/ai-employees). The roles doing the work.
  *   <span className="kb-ico">
        <Icon icon="shield-check" />
      </span>
    [Governance & Control](/smaya/oversight). The record behind every answer.
</div>