Permission is not one switch
| Layer | What it controls | What it does not do |
|---|---|---|
| Connected app permissions | Which service and actions are available to the dot. | They do not define the responsibility or audience. |
| Conversation instructions | The current job, sources, update rules and preferences. | They do not override built-in safeguards. |
| Custom Rules | Ongoing handling of a specific action: act, wait for instruction, ask, or hand off. | They do not grant app/computer access or remove mandatory confirmations. |
| Automatic action review | Checks an action against instructions, permissions, rules and safety requirements. | It does not make the result error-free. |
Use rules for recurring action boundaries
OpenAI documents four intended behaviors: take the specified action without asking; act when you explicitly say so; ask immediately before acting; or hand the action to you. Use conversation instructions for style and update preferences; use a Custom Rule when the approval boundary should persist.
Suitable for customer, vendor or public messages where recipient and content matter.
Keep deletion of shared files, records or accounts as a step you perform yourself.
Reserve this for reversible actions whose source, audience and limits are precisely defined.
A rule does not connect a plugin, account or computer. Review those permissions separately.
Review Activity and Scheduled separately
Activity contains delegated work, progress, files, results and requests for input. Scheduled contains recurring tasks and their timing. A main dot, a delegated task and a recurring schedule can continue independently, so check each surface when reviewing or stopping work.
After reviewing the activity log, verify consequential results in the original system. A completed task can still contain an error or fail to deliver the intended outcome.
Pause does not stop everything
- Pause: stops the dot's current main task.
- Activity: open and stop an individual delegated task.
- Scheduled: disable or delete a recurring task.
- Revoke access: remove a connected computer or adjust plugin permissions when access is no longer needed.
Stopping work does not undo an action already completed. Deleting a dot likewise does not recall messages or reverse changes made in connected services.
Before you allow ongoing work
Official documentation
Custom Rules are instructions the product tries to follow, not a guarantee against mistakes. Built-in safety requirements still apply.