Fleece AI vs Relay.app: where human-in-the-loop goes next
Relay.app announced on July 16, 2026 that it is closing: free accounts end August 15, paid accounts September 14. If you chose Relay.app for AI automation with human approval built in, Fleece AI is the closest home for that philosophy — autonomous agents with one-click approval gates, 3,000+ integrations, and a plain-language brief instead of a workflow builder.
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Fleece AI is the best Relay.app alternative for teams that valued human-in-the-loop automation. Relay.app shuts down on September 14, 2026 (August 15 for free accounts). Fleece keeps its core idea alive — sensitive steps pause for your one-click approval — while going further: autonomous agents briefed in plain language, hierarchical agent teams, and 3,000+ integrations versus Relay.app's roughly 100.
By Loïc Jané · Updated July 21, 2026
Relay.app is closing. Its best idea doesn't have to.
Relay.app earned its reputation honestly. Founded by Jacob Bank — who previously led product for Gmail and Google Calendar — and backed by Khosla Ventures and Andreessen Horowitz, it made one thing genuinely better than anyone else: human-in-the-loop automation. Any AI step could pause and wait for a person to review, edit, or approve before the workflow continued. On July 16, 2026, the team announced the service is shutting down: free accounts and their data are deleted after August 15, paid workspaces stop on September 14, and annual customers receive prorated refunds. Workflows can be exported as JSON and AI prompts, run history and tables as CSV.
Fleece AI approaches the same problem from the delegation side, with Relay.app's safeguard built in. Instead of assembling a workflow trigger by trigger, you brief an autonomous agent in plain language — "triage my support inbox, escalate outages, file real bugs in GitHub" — and the agent plans the steps itself. Every agent has an autonomy setting, and approval gates pause anything sensitive — external replies, deletions, payments — for your one-click sign-off. That is Relay.app's review gate, applied where it matters instead of at every step.
Migration is more direct than it looks. Relay.app's export gives you each workflow as JSON and as an AI prompt — and a Fleece agent is briefed with exactly that kind of prompt. Most Relay.app workflows become a single agent brief: paste the exported prompt, connect the same apps through managed OAuth, set the autonomy level, and keep the approval gate on the steps where you actually wanted a human in the loop.
Fleece AI vs Relay.app at a glance
The short version: Relay.app was a workflow builder with best-in-class approval steps; Fleece is an agent workforce with approvals where they matter — and it is still here.
| Criterion | Fleece AI | Relay.app |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Actively developed | Shutting down — free ends Aug 15, paid Sep 14, 2026 |
| Core model | Autonomous agents you brief; the agent plans every run | Workflows you assemble step by step, with approval steps |
| Human-in-the-loop | Autonomy levels + one-click approval gates on sensitive actions | Best-in-class — any step could pause for human review |
| Setup | Describe the job in one plain-language brief | Assemble triggers, actions, and approval steps per workflow |
| Integrations | 3,000+ apps via managed OAuth + browser automation for the rest | ~100 connectors, all available on every plan |
| Team of agents | Hierarchical teams — a lead agent delegates to specialists | No equivalent — flat workflows, human collaborators |
| Scheduling | Cron-scheduled flows with timezones + real-time triggers | Triggers and basic scheduling |
| Browser automation | Built-in — agents drive a real browser for apps without an API | Not available |
| Migration path | Paste Relay.app's exported AI prompt as an agent brief | Export workflows as JSON + AI prompts before shutdown |
| Pricing model | Flat monthly plans — predictable at any volume | Per-user tiers (billing ended; prorated refunds under way) |
Choose Fleece AI if…
- You picked Relay.app for human-in-the-loop: Fleece keeps sensitive steps behind one-click approval gates while automating the rest.
- You want to stop assembling workflows and delegate outcomes — one plain-language brief replaces triggers, actions, and branches.
- Relay.app's ~100 connectors were a ceiling: Fleece connects 3,000+ apps through managed OAuth, plus a real browser for the rest.
- You want one agent — or a hierarchical team of agents — running a whole mission across Slack, Gmail, your CRM, and your docs.
- You need to migrate before September 14 with something that maps cleanly: exported Relay.app prompts become agent briefs.
What Relay.app did well — and what to look for now
- Per-step approval routing to specific teammates was genuinely best-in-class; in Fleece, approval gates cover the sensitive steps, with every run recorded step by step for review.
- All integrations on every plan, including free, was a generous policy; check any replacement for connector paywalls before you commit.
- Plain-language workflow creation via its Spark assistant pointed the right direction — briefing a Fleece agent is that idea taken to its conclusion.
Migrating from Relay.app before the deadline
Export everything first: Relay.app lets you download workflows, sequences, and MCP servers as JSON and AI prompts, plus run history and tables as CSV — free accounts lose their data after August 15, 2026. Then move workflow by workflow: paste each exported AI prompt into a Fleece agent brief, reconnect the same apps through managed OAuth, and keep approval gates on the steps where you wanted human review. Run the new agent alongside Relay.app during the 7-day trial and compare on your own data — paid Relay.app workspaces keep running until September 14, which is enough for a calm, verified migration.
Two ways to move your Relay.app workflows
Do it yourself in minutes: in Relay.app, use “Copy build prompt” on each workflow, paste it into our importer, and your first agent arrives pre-filled. Or book Setup Express and we rebuild your key workflows with you on a 30-minute video call — approval gates included.
Setup Express is a one-time €89 session — included with Business and Enterprise plans.
Frequently asked questions
Migrate before the deadline — calmly
Export your Relay.app workflows, paste the prompts as agent briefs, and run Fleece alongside Relay.app while it is still up. 7-day trial, cancel anytime.
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