The action layer between agents and your systems of record
Agents are only as useful as the actions they can safely take. We design the API and tool layer that lets them read and write to your ERP, CRM, and databases — scoped, idempotent, approved, and fully observable.
- Typed, least-privilege tool layer
- Idempotent, reversible writes
- Gateway with rate limits & retries
- End-to-end call lineage
What an agent-ready API layer needs
A model that can call your APIs is not the same as an architecture you can trust in production. These are the pieces that make the difference.
Typed tool definitions
Each system action becomes a strongly-typed tool with a validated schema, clear description, and bounded inputs — so the agent calls it correctly, not creatively.
Scoped authentication
Tools authenticate with least-privilege, short-lived credentials per system and per identity. The model never sees a long-lived API key.
Gateway & rate control
A gateway fronts every backend with rate limits, concurrency caps, retries, backoff, and circuit breakers so your systems of record stay healthy.
Idempotent writes
Mutations carry idempotency keys and pass schema validation, so a retried or duplicated call can never double-charge, double-ship, or double-write.
Approval gates
High-blast-radius actions pause for human sign-off with a clear diff of what will change, then resume — without losing the agent's context.
Full observability
Every call is traced with inputs, identity, response, latency, and cost, linked back to the decision that triggered it.
From systems map to governed action layer
A measured path that treats your systems of record with the caution they deserve.
Inventory
We map your systems of record, their APIs, auth models, rate limits, and which data is read-only versus writable.
Design
We define the typed tool surface, credential scoping, idempotency strategy, and which actions require human approval.
Build
We implement the gateway, action layer, and tools, with validation, retries, and tracing wired in from the start.
Harden
We load-test against your real limits, dry-run destructive paths, and tune circuit breakers before any agent touches production.
Writes that can't go rogue
The scariest part of agentic automation is the write path. A model that can read your CRM is convenient; a model that can update ten thousand records is a liability if it's wired to raw credentials.
We put every mutation behind a governed action layer: least-privilege tokens, schema validation, idempotency keys, dry-run previews, and approval gates on anything with real blast radius. If something does go wrong, every change is logged and reversible.
- Least-privilege, short-lived credentials
- Idempotency keys on every mutation
- Dry-run previews and approval gates
- Reversible, fully-logged changes
Raw API access vs. a governed action layer
Why handing a model your credentials is not an integration strategy.
| Model with raw API keys | An Automatic.co action layer | |
|---|---|---|
| Credentials | Long-lived keys in the prompt | Scoped, short-lived tokens per tool |
| Writes | Whatever the model emits | Validated, idempotent, reversible |
| Rate limits | Hopes for the best | Gateway-enforced with backoff |
| High-risk actions | Fire and forget | Human approval with a change diff |
| Audit | Scattered logs, if any | End-to-end call lineage |
Frequently asked questions
Do you build new APIs, or work with what we already have?
Both, but we start with what exists. Most systems of record already expose REST, SOAP, GraphQL, or a database. We wrap them in a typed action layer with the auth, validation, and logging an agent needs, and only build new endpoints where there's a genuine gap.
How do you stop an agent from making a destructive write?
Writes go through a governed action layer, not raw API keys. Each tool is scoped to least-privilege credentials, mutations are idempotent and validated against a schema, high-blast-radius actions require human approval, and everything is reversible or dry-runnable before it commits.
Won't an agent hammer our APIs and blow past rate limits?
The action layer sits behind a gateway that enforces per-tool rate limits, concurrency caps, retries with backoff, and circuit breakers. Your systems of record never see raw agent traffic — they see a well-behaved, observable client that respects their limits.
How do we audit what the agent actually did?
Every tool call is logged with the inputs, the resolved identity, the response, latency, cost, and the decision that triggered it. You get end-to-end lineage from the agent's reasoning down to the exact row it changed in your ERP or CRM.
Bring a system of record. Leave with a safe write path.
One working session to map your APIs, auth, and limits — and the action-layer architecture your agents need to use them safely.