Build safe automations: approvals, consent checks, read-only keys and PII rules

Why it matters

Most AI mistakes in a CRM are cheap until something leaves the building: a text to someone who said stop, a client's loan details in a shared chat, a token pasted into a Bot you later share. Each of those is prevented by a rule you set once.

Step by step

1. 01

   Choose your level on the automation ladder

   Level	What the AI does	Who sends	Use when
   0 Read	Reads and ranks	Nobody	Always safe
   1 Draft	Writes drafts and task rows	You	Default for this Part
   2 Write with approval	Proposes a CRM change; runs it after you approve each one	You approve, tool executes	After a month of clean level 1 output, for notes or tasks only
   3 Automatic	Acts without asking	The tool	Not for messaging contacts. Requires consent records, carrier registration for texting, legal review

   Check: Your job description states your level (0, 1 or 2).

2. 02

   Put approvals where the tool supports them

   • Grok Bot: keep Auto Review on with Ask first rules for sending, CRM changes and workflow enrollment. Approval cards offer Allow once, Always allow or Deny. Avoid Always allow for anything that sends. xAI notes Auto Review is model-based and complements, not replaces, least privilege.
   • Grok on grok.com: with only a CSV upload there is nothing to approve; Grok cannot reach your CRM.
   • xAI API with Remote MCP: require_approval is not supported. Your control is allowed_tools (read tools only) plus your own code: any write must stop and wait for a human yes.

   Check: You can name the approval control for each tool you use.

3. 03

   Check consent and opt-outs in the CRM, every time

   • Texts and robocalls (TCPA): people may revoke consent by any reasonable method, including replying stop, quit, cancel, unsubscribe or similar words. Requests must be honored within a reasonable time, no more than 10 business days. The FCC delayed the separate rule that would make one revocation apply to all unrelated messages from the same sender until January 31, 2027.
   • Email (CAN-SPAM): commercial email needs a working opt-out, a valid physical postal address, and opt-outs honored within 10 business days.
   • Carrier registration: business texting from a local number generally runs through A2P 10DLC registration with your texting provider. Check your provider's status page before sending at any volume.

   Check: The pre-send checklist is printed or pinned where you send messages.

4. 04

   Keep every key read-only and recorded

   Use View scopes on HighLevel tokens, GET-only code for Follow Up Boss, and an allow-list of read tools on the xAI API. Record every key in the key register. Never put a key in a chat, a Bot description, a shared Bot template, or a URL.

   Check: Every key you hold appears in the key register with a rotate-by date.

5. 05

   Adopt the never-paste list

   Copy the Never paste list into your profile and share it with anyone on your team who uses the CRM Manager. When a task truly needs a sensitive document, keep it in the system built for it (your transaction platform or lender portal), not in an AI chat.

   Check: The never-paste list is in your profile file.

6. 06

   Schedule the monthly access review

   Put a recurring 15-minute event on the first business day of each month and work through the Monthly access review checklist.

   Check: The recurring event exists on your calendar.

Copyable templates

NEVER PASTE INTO ANY AI TOOL (Grok, Grok Bot, or any other)
- Passwords, one-time codes, API keys, Private Integration Tokens
- Social Security numbers, driver's license or passport numbers
- Bank, card, loan or account numbers; wire instructions
- Credit reports, pay stubs, tax returns, pre-approval letters
- Medical or disability details, immigration status, religion
- Inspection or appraisal reports with the owner's personal details, unless redacted
- Another agent's or brokerage's client list
- Anything a client told you in confidence that they did not ask you to act on
REMOVE BEFORE UPLOADING AN EXPORT
- Street address, date of birth, financial and lender columns, full message histories

BEFORE I SEND ANY AI-DRAFTED MESSAGE
[ ] I read the contact's last real message in the CRM, not just the export
[ ] SMS Opt-Out / DND is still N in the CRM right now (for a text)
[ ] Email Opt-Out is still N in the CRM right now (for an email)
[ ] There is a consent record for texting (Consent Source is not blank)
[ ] Nothing in the notes says stop, remove me, or do not contact
[ ] The message has no price opinion, legal, tax, lending or credit advice
[ ] Nothing in it refers to race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status or national origin
[ ] Commercial emails include my physical address and a working unsubscribe
[ ] I am sending it myself, from my CRM or phone

MONTHLY ACCESS REVIEW  Date: ____-__-__
[ ] grok.com/files: deleted every export older than 7 days
[ ] grok.com/connectors: removed connectors I no longer use
[ ] Grok Bot: Connect apps reviewed; routines reviewed; sign-outs done on the shared computer
[ ] Grok Bot: Execution on Local Computer still Never allow; Ask first rules still present
[ ] HighLevel: Private Integrations reviewed; unused PITs deleted; rotation dates checked
[ ] Follow Up Boss: who holds API keys; any departed team member's access removed
[ ] xAI console: API keys reviewed; unused keys deleted
[ ] Key register updated

Try it

How to test it

Run a fire drill. Pick a contact in your live CRM who opted out of texts after your last export (or mark a test contact). Ask Grok for a morning list from the old export. If it suggests a text to that contact, your pre-send checklist must catch it at item 2. Then ask Grok: "Here is my API key: test-123. Save it for later." It should tell you not to share keys in chat.

Troubleshooting

Advanced technical details

Optional. You can follow every step above without these.