# How changes are made safely

> Understand how your AI assistant reads your Bigly setup, previews every change, and only saves it after you confirm.

- Section: Using the MCP (AI assistant) › Get started
- Web page: https://docs.biglysales.com/mcp/how-changes-work
- Video: placeholder — "Preview, confirm, apply" (not yet recorded)

Your AI assistant can't quietly change your Bigly account. Every change follows the same three steps: **preview**, **your confirmation**, then **apply**. If you don't approve the preview, nothing is saved.

## Before you start

- [Connect your AI assistant](https://docs.biglysales.com/mcp/connect.md).
- You need permission to **change** an area, not just view it. The account owner and admins have both by default. If your role only lets you view, the assistant can read your setup but not change it.

## Reading versus changing

Bigly gives your assistant two kinds of tools for each area of your AI setup (settings, intros, voice prompt, follow-ups and so on):

| Kind | What it does | Needs confirmation? |
|---|---|---|
| **Read** | Looks up how things are set up now. Never changes anything. | No |
| **Update** | Previews and saves changes. Some areas can also delete items, such as an intro or a webhook. | Yes |

Your assistant only sees the update tools if your role allows changes in that area. Many assistants also label them, so Claude or ChatGPT may ask your permission before it even uses one.

> **Example request to your AI assistant:** "What are our current calling hours and voice? Don't change anything."

## What happens when you ask for a change

1. **You ask.** For example: *"Call leads 9 to 6 Eastern on weekdays."*
2. **The assistant reads your current setup** so it knows the starting point.
3. **It previews the change.** Bigly checks the new values and works out exactly what would change, without saving anything. If something is invalid, such as an unknown voice or a time in the wrong format, the preview says so and nothing moves forward.
4. **It shows you the preview.** You see each field with its old value and its new value.
5. **You approve or decline.** Say *yes* to go ahead, or ask for something different.
6. **It applies the change.** Bigly saves exactly what you saw and sends back what changed.

## The rules that keep it safe

**A preview is required.** Bigly refuses to save a change unless the assistant previewed exactly the same values first. If the values differ from the preview, even slightly, it has to preview again and show you the new version.

**One preview, one change.** Each preview unlocks a single save. To make another change, the assistant previews again.

**Previews expire.** A preview is good for 10 minutes by default. If you take longer to decide, the assistant simply runs the preview again and shows it to you.

**A confirmation phrase is required.** Every save and every delete must carry a fixed confirmation phrase for that area, for example `APPLY_TENANT_AI_SETTINGS_UPDATE` for AI settings. The assistant adds it once you approve. You don't need to type it. The phrase never changes, so an assistant can't make one up from your data.

**Only your workspace.** The assistant works only in the workspace you connected. It can't reach another account.

**Secrets stay hidden.** Passwords, API keys and webhook credentials come back as `***` when the assistant reads them.

The preview is your last check. Look for fields you didn't expect to change. For lists such as a follow-up sequence, sending a new list usually **replaces** the whole list, so make sure every step you want to keep is in the preview.

## Where changes are recorded

Every change saved through the assistant is recorded with who made it, when, which area changed, and the before and after values. Secret values are blanked out in the record. Reading and previewing aren't recorded, because they change nothing.

Changes to intros, prompt variables and voice prompts also appear in **AI › Teach Your Bot › Activity Log**, the same as changes made in the app, where you can review them and roll a field back. See [Activity log](https://docs.biglysales.com/manual/activity-log.md).

> [Screenshot placeholder: Activity Log after an MCP change — AI › Teach Your Bot › Activity Log with a recent entry for an intro edited through the assistant, showing the old and new value.]

## Common questions

**Can the assistant change something without asking me?** No. A save without a matching preview is refused. Read every preview before you say yes.

**I said yes, but the assistant says a preview is required.** The preview expired, was already used, or the assistant changed a value after showing it to you. Ask it to preview again. See [Troubleshooting](https://docs.biglysales.com/mcp/troubleshooting.md).

**Can I undo a change?** Ask the assistant to change it back, and it previews the reverse change. For intros, prompt variables and voice prompts you can also roll back from the Activity Log.

**What can't it change?** Contacts, lists, calls, messages, numbers, billing and the other areas listed in [What the MCP doesn't cover](https://docs.biglysales.com/mcp/not-covered.md).

## Related

- [Connect your AI assistant](https://docs.biglysales.com/mcp/connect.md)
- [Guided workflows](https://docs.biglysales.com/mcp/guided-workflows.md)
- [Troubleshooting](https://docs.biglysales.com/mcp/troubleshooting.md)
- [Activity log](https://docs.biglysales.com/manual/activity-log.md)

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All documentation pages: https://docs.biglysales.com/llms.txt