Workflows: Guide step option that returns outputs only, with no customer-facing reply
S
Sable Anteater
Problem
The Guide step in Workflows always works as a reply-generation step. Even when a workflow only uses Guide to reason over a ticket and pass outcomes to later decision steps, the step still tries to write a reply. Sometimes it sends free text straight to the end user.
Use case
Some teams only allow approved macros for outbound messages, for regulatory, contractual or brand reasons. In these workflows:
- Guide reads the ticket and produces outcomes (e.g. a classification, eligibility or next action).
- Later decision steps branch on those outcomes.
- A macro or dedicated reply step sends the only outbound message.
Because Guide can't be stopped from replying, it sometimes sends non-macro text.
Why prompting isn't enough
- Compliance risk: When non-approved text reaches an external party this is a compliance breach.
- Slow to validate: The errors can be rare, so it can take ~3 months of volume to confirm that a prompt change has worked. That's too long to leave a compliance gap open.
- Not deterministic: Prompt instructions guide the model but can't guarantee anything. Customers need a guarantee at the configuration level.
Request
Add a Guide mode or setting, or a separate step type, that:
- Returns only structured outputs or variables for downstream steps
- Can never send a reply to the end user, whatever the prompt says
- Leaves outbound messaging entirely to macro or reply steps later in the workflow
Expected impact
- No unapproved replies from reasoning steps
- Safe to use Guide in compliance-sensitive workflows
- Less prompt workarounds, and less need for long monitoring periods after workflow changes