Should Ramp's expense agent auto-approve low-risk expenses by default for new customers, or require human review first?

Introduction

Ramp's AI agents can review expenses against company policy and approve those that comply. A natural product decision follows: when a new customer turns on the expense agent, should low-risk, in-policy expenses be auto-approved by default, or should the agent only recommend approvals and wait for a manager or controller to confirm? Auto-approval by default delivers the biggest time savings and showcases Ramp's AI immediately. Human review by default builds trust slowly and protects against early mistakes. This is a classic speed-versus-control trade-off, and it matters because the first weeks with an agent shape whether a finance team ever trusts it.

Step 1

Clarifying Questions (3 minutes)

• Context: What counts as "low-risk"? I'll assume transactions under a threshold (for example, $75), at known merchants, in an allowed category, with a receipt and memo, matching policy rules exactly.

• Business Context: Is the goal to increase agent adoption, reduce approval time, or showcase AI for upsell to Ramp Plus? I'll assume adoption and long-term retention of agent usage are the priority.

• User Impact: Who currently approves these expenses: managers, controllers, or both? I'll assume managers approve first and controllers review later.

• Technical: Can auto-approved transactions be reviewed or reversed afterward? I'll assume they can be flagged in a post-approval audit sample, and that the card spend has already happened anyway, so approval mainly affects accounting and compliance, not whether money moves.

• Resource: Is this a default setting decision for new customers only? I'll assume yes; existing customers keep their current setting.