LLM reviewers are fast - and can confidently suggest unsafe changes. The winning pattern is guardrails plus human merge authority.
TL;DR: Keep deterministic checks (types, tests, SAST) as merge blockers; use AI for summaries, test ideas, and docstrings; scope prompts to the diff, not the whole repo; log suggestions for later tuning.
Which findings should never auto-apply?
Auth changes, crypto, dependency bumps, and schema migrations. Require human eyes and a second approval in regulated environments.
How do we measure value?
Track comment resolution time, defect escape rate after adoption, and developer satisfaction - not raw suggestion count. Noise erodes trust faster than silence.
Want automation without chaos? Explore AI automation services or engineering strategy consulting.