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Check each phase before the next one

To keep a long AI job honest, inspect each phase before the next one starts. A checkpoint is that pause. You keep what is good, fix what is wrong, or stop.

Next step: copy the first prompt that matches your task. Fill in the brackets. Send only that.

A prompt is the message you paste. An approval gate is a stop you control. A checkpoint is a pause after one phase. School pages teach. They do not do the homework. Follow your teacher's rules.

How to do it

  1. 1 Ask for the phase, then a stop. The reply should include the work, what it is unsure about, and the check you should do. It should not start the next phase.
  2. 2 Inspect against your facts. Compare the reply to the plan you approved. Look for new names, numbers, and steps you did not ask for.
  3. 3 Steer in one reply. Say keep, change, or stop. If you change it, say the one fix. Do not hand it a new whole job.
  4. 4 Open the next gate only if this one passed. If the phase is wrong, stay here. A later phase built on a bad one falls apart.

Work

A report summary, one section at a time

You pasted a report you are allowed to share. You want the point of section 1 before it touches section 2.

Checkpoint. Inspect phase 1 only. Do not start phase 2.

Here is section 1 of the report:
[paste section 1]

Give me 5 bullets: the decision, the numbers that are actually in this section, and anything you are unsure about. If a number is not in the paste, write NOT IN THE TEXT. Then stop and wait.

School

You explain, then it checks the explanation

You read the page. The chat checks your words. It does not replace the reading.

This is for learning. Do not write anything I will turn in. Follow my teacher's rules.

Checkpoint. I will explain [idea] in my own words. Tell me what I got right, what I missed, and one question that would test me. Do not rewrite my explanation into an answer I could turn in. Then stop.

My explanation: [your words]

Life

A budget, after you type the amounts

The chat cannot see your bills. You type them. You check the total before it suggests cuts.

Checkpoint for phase 1 of my monthly budget. Do not suggest cuts yet.

Income: [amount]. Rent: [amount]. Food: [amount]. Other bills: [list].
Add only the numbers I typed. Show the total and what is left. If a bill is missing, write MISSING, do not guess it. Then stop. I will check the total against my bank app before phase 2.

Common mistakes

  • Letting phase 2 start inside the same reply as phase 1.
  • Skipping the check because the writing sounds smooth. Faster is not better if you cannot use it.
  • Asking for ten fixes at once, so you cannot see what changed.
  • Trusting a number that was not in your notes, the report, or your bank app.

More in this section: Break a big job into phases · Catch facts the AI made up

Practice on a real task: Summarize a long report · Make a monthly budget

Last updated · All director guides

Where this comes from

  • Anthropic, “Trustworthy agents in practice” (April 9, 2026). Anthropic says an agent plans, acts, looks at the result, and repeats until the job is done or it needs a person. In Claude Code, Plan Mode shows the plan first. You can edit it and approve it before any work starts, and you can still step in later.
  • Anthropic, “Building effective agents” (December 19, 2024). Anthropic says an agent can pause for a person at a checkpoint. One pattern they describe is to write an outline, check that the outline is good, and only then write the piece.
  • OpenAI Help, “ChatGPT Work and Codex”. OpenAI describes Work as an agent for longer, multi-step jobs. The help page says you can review progress, change direction, and approve important actions. If your account does not show Work, use the same stops in a normal chat.

Common questions

What is a checkpoint?

A pause after one phase. You look at that piece. Then you keep it, change it, or stop. The next phase waits.

What does steer mean?

Steer means you point the next try. One sentence is enough: what to keep, what to change, and what not to add.

How is this different from a faster draft?

A fast draft can still be generic or wrong. The checkpoint is where you decide it is usable. Speed is not the finish line.

What if the tool runs off and does every phase?

Stop it if the product lets you. Then say which phase you accept and which part to redo. Do not build on a phase you have not read.