AI automation2026

PULSE

Business process automation with an AI step

pulse.app/northgate/wf_0412/canvas

wf_0412Inbound invoice → approvalv14 live

CanvasRunsErrorsAnalyticsHistory

Test with fixturePublish v15

TRGCNDAIAPPACT+

TRGn010.21s

Invoice received

Mail · ap-inbox

—Mail.Message

CNDn020.04s

Has PDF attachment?

attachments[0].mime = pdf

Mail.MessageFile.PDF

AIn033.12s

Extract invoice fields

pulse-extract-m · temp 0

File.PDFInvoice

APPn040.88s

Match purchase order

Sheets · Purchasing/PO-open

InvoiceInvoice+PO

ACTn07—

Ask sender for PDF

Mail · reply template R-02

Mail.Message—

CNDn050.03s

Total within 2% of PO?

abs(total − po.total) ≤ 2%

Invoice+POInvoice+PO

APPn060.61s

Post bill to accounting

Invoicing · bills.create

Invoice+POBill

ACTn090.34s

Notify approver

Chat · DM cost-centre owner

Bill—

ACTn08—

Send to review queue

Chat · #ap-review

InvoiceTask

Lane A · intakeAnything that is not a PDF never reaches the model.

Lane B · postingOnly invoices inside tolerance are posted without a person.

−100%+fitoverlay: last run run_8f3a21 · 7 of 9 nodes executed · 5.23 s executed not taken fallback

AIn03ConfigTestRuns

Extract invoice fields

Model

modelpulse-extract-mtemperature0max output1 200 tokenstimeout20 s

Step prompt summary · 46 lines

Read the attached supplier invoice. Return only the fields in the output schema. Take totals from the summary block, never from line arithmetic. If a PO number is missing, return null — do not guess from the vendor name. Report a confidence per field.

Input

file      File.PDF   *
sender    Email
locale    "de" | "en"

Output Invoice

vendor_name  string   *
invoice_no   string   *
po_number    string?
issue_date   date     *
total        money    *
tax          money
iban         string   masked
confidence   map<field, 0..1>

Fallback rule

if confidence.total < 0.80 or confidence.po_number < 0.80

then skip n04–n06 → n08 Send to review queue

on timeout retry 2× · 5 s · then n08

12 / 12 fixtures passfallback taken in 9.1% of runs · 30 d

Area: AI automation · 2026
Role: Product logic, UX, interface design, interface development
Scope: 8 product screens, node and run model, visual system

Task

Operations teams — finance, purchasing, support — own a process but not an engineering backlog. They need to build the process, change it, and explain what happened on a given Tuesday.

Key decision

An automation tool is judged on the day it fails. PULSE was designed from the run log backwards: the canvas only draws what the log will later have to explain.

Proof 01

The AI step is a node like any other

The model call has the same contract as every node: typed input and output, a timeout, and a rule for uncertainty. Below 0.80 confidence the invoice goes to a person — and that rule is drawn on the canvas as its own edge.

What it showsDesigning AI features that can be trusted.

pulse.app/northgate/wf_0412/canvas

wf_0412Inbound invoice → approvalv14 live

CanvasRunsErrorsAnalyticsHistory

Test with fixturePublish v15

TRGCNDAIAPPACT+

TRGn010.21s

Invoice received

Mail · ap-inbox

—Mail.Message

CNDn020.04s

Has PDF attachment?

attachments[0].mime = pdf

Mail.MessageFile.PDF

AIn033.12s

Extract invoice fields

pulse-extract-m · temp 0

File.PDFInvoice

APPn040.88s

Match purchase order

Sheets · Purchasing/PO-open

InvoiceInvoice+PO

ACTn07—

Ask sender for PDF

Mail · reply template R-02

Mail.Message—

CNDn050.03s

Total within 2% of PO?

abs(total − po.total) ≤ 2%

Invoice+POInvoice+PO

APPn060.61s

Post bill to accounting

Invoicing · bills.create

Invoice+POBill

ACTn090.34s

Notify approver

Chat · DM cost-centre owner

Bill—

ACTn08—

Send to review queue

Chat · #ap-review

InvoiceTask

Lane A · intakeAnything that is not a PDF never reaches the model.

Lane B · postingOnly invoices inside tolerance are posted without a person.

−100%+fitoverlay: last run run_8f3a21 · 7 of 9 nodes executed · 5.23 s executed not taken fallback

AIn03ConfigTestRuns

Extract invoice fields

Model

modelpulse-extract-mtemperature0max output1 200 tokenstimeout20 s

Step prompt summary · 46 lines

Input

file      File.PDF   *
sender    Email
locale    "de" | "en"

Output Invoice

vendor_name  string   *
invoice_no   string   *
po_number    string?
issue_date   date     *
total        money    *
tax          money
iban         string   masked
confidence   map<field, 0..1>

Fallback rule

if confidence.total < 0.80 or confidence.po_number < 0.80

then skip n04–n06 → n08 Send to review queue

on timeout retry 2× · 5 s · then n08

12 / 12 fixtures passfallback taken in 9.1% of runs · 30 d

Proof 02

The run log

A run is a timeline of steps with durations. A failed step opens its payload; the product says in one sentence why the run stopped and what did not happen as a result.

What it showsComplex system state explained to a non-technical person.

pulse.app/northgate/wf_0412/runs/run_7c41e9

wf_0412Inbound invoice → approvalv14 live

CanvasRunsErrorsAnalyticsHistory

Replay from n06

FAILEDrun_7c41e914 Sep 2026 · 10:42:07.318 · v14 · trigger n01

steps6 of 7duration4.58 stokens1 184parkeddead-letter

0s1s2s3s4s5s

n01TRG

Invoice receivedmessage 1 of 1 · 1 attachment

0.19s

n02CND

Has PDF attachment?true · application/pdf · 214 KB

0.03s

n03AI

Extract invoice fields9 fields · min conf 0.91 · 1 184 tok

2.84s

n04APP

Match purchase orderPO-7731 matched on po_number

0.91s

n05CND

Total within 2% of PO?true · delta 0.4%

0.03s

n06APP

Post bill to accounting422 VENDOR_NOT_MAPPED · not retried

0.58s

n09ACT

Notify approverupstream failed

—

Why it stopped

n06 returned 422 VENDOR_NOT_MAPPED. Validation errors are not retried under this node’s policy, so the run was parked with its payload intact. n09 Notify approver did not execute — nobody was told about a bill that does not exist.

Same signature: 17 runs since 27 Aug · open error group

APPn06InputOutputError

Input Invoice+PO · 612 B · IBAN masked

{
  "invoice": {
    "vendor_name": "Brennholt Fasteners",
    "invoice_no": "INV-20418",
    "po_number": "PO-7731",
    "issue_date": "2026-09-11",
    "total": { "amount": 4862.40, "cur": "EUR" },
    "tax":   { "amount": 776.35, "cur": "EUR" },
    "iban": "DE•• •••• •••• •••• 4417"
  },
  "po": { "id": "PO-7731", "total": 4843.00,
          "cost_centre": "CC-210" },
  "idempotency_key": "wf_0412:INV-20418"
}

Response

HTTP 422  bills.create          0.58 s
{
  "code": "VENDOR_NOT_MAPPED",
  "field": "vendor_id",
  "detail": "no ledger vendor for 'Brennholt Fasteners'"
}

Proof 03

Errors as one problem

Failures are grouped by node and code, not by message text: seventeen vendor errors read as one problem with one fix.

What it showsUX for operational tools, and an understanding of how automations really break.

pulse.app/northgate/wf_0412/errors

wf_0412Inbound invoice → approvalv14 live

CanvasRunsErrorsAnalyticsHistory

41 failed runs · 30 d · 5 signatures

SignatureNodeRunsLast 14 dFirst · lastRetryState

422VENDOR_NOT_MAPPEDn06Post bill to accounting1727 Aug · 10:42 todaynoopen

504PO_LOOKUP_TIMEOUTn04Match purchase order1119 Aug · 11 Sep3× · 9 recoveredopen

—PDF_UNREADABLEn03Extract invoice fields818 Aug · 10 Sepno → n08open

404APPROVER_NOT_FOUNDn09Notify approver32 Sep · 9 Sepnomuted

409DUPLICATE_BILLn06Post bill to accounting220 Aug · 27 Augnoresolved

How groups are formed

A signature is node id + error code, never the message text. Seventeen differently worded vendor errors are one problem with one fix — and one replay.

What was made

Product model: five node types, typed ports
8 interface screens
Canvas, run log, errors, node library, analytics, versions
Visual system
Product landing page