How to Require Human Review of AI-Generated Pull Requests
Require at least one human approver on every pull request via branch-protection rules, and label AI-authored PRs so reviewers know to scrutinize them. This is the single highest-leverage AI-governance control.
The short answer
Turn on branch protection for your default and release branches, require at least one approving review before merge, and do not let the PR author approve their own change. Then establish a convention that AI-authored or AI-assisted PRs are labeled as such, so reviewers apply the right level of scrutiny.
Why 'the agent reviewed it' is not review
AI tools frequently over-engineer and introduce changes that compile and pass superficial checks but are wrong in ways only a human familiar with the system catches. Treat agent output as the work of an untrusted junior developer: useful, fast, and always reviewed by someone accountable before it ships.
A minimal, enforceable setup
You can implement this today without buying anything:
- Enable branch protection on default/release branches; require 1+ approving review.
- Disable self-approval and require review from someone other than the author.
- Require status checks (tests, lint, type-check) to pass before merge.
- Adopt a label or PR-template checkbox marking AI-authored changes.
- For higher-risk paths, require review from a code owner specifically.
Frequently asked questions
Won't requiring review slow the team down?
Review is where AI's speed is actually banked safely. The agent drafts in minutes; a focused human review catches the over-engineering and context errors that would otherwise become production incidents. The net velocity is higher, not lower.
Should AI-generated PRs be labeled?
Yes. A label or PR-template checkbox tells reviewers to apply extra scrutiny and gives you an audit signal for how much of your merged code originated from agents.
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