How Neo works
How Neo works behind the scenes
The simple picture first, followed by the safety rules that hold it together.
The simple picture
flowchart LR Person[Buyer or seller] --> Entry[WhatsApp or secure web page] Entry --> Neo[Neo] Neo --> Records[(Saved Neo records)] Neo --> Companies[Payment, delivery, and other services] Companies --> Neo Neo --> Person
If the diagram does not render, its Mermaid source remains readable above.
Neo is one app with more than one entrance. Most people use WhatsApp. Some private or detailed jobs open on a secure web page.
Both entrances use the same saved records. A price, payment, or order should not change just because someone moved from WhatsApp to the web.
Neo also talks to outside companies for WhatsApp messages, payments, delivery, identity checks, and file storage. It checks their replies before changing an order or telling a person that something happened.
What happens after a message arrives
- Neo saves the message so it is not lost.
- Neo works out what the person is asking for.
- It reads current facts, such as the real price, stock, order owner, or payment status.
- If the action matters, Neo shows the exact details and asks the person to confirm.
- Neo carries out the action once and saves what happened.
- Neo replies using only the result it can prove.
This is why the AI can help understand a sentence but cannot invent stock, confirm a payment, or move money by itself.
The five safety rules
- AI does not decide what is true. Current product, order, payment, and delivery records do.
- Important actions need a clear confirmation. Neo shows the current details before publishing a product, creating an order, or sending money.
- People only see what belongs to them. Neo checks the signed-in person and the record owner.
- Outside companies must provide proof. A payment or delivery update is checked before Neo trusts it.
- Unsafe connections can be switched off. If a service is not ready, Neo stops that path instead of pretending it worked.
Technical words used later
The deeper pages use some engineering terms. Here is what they mean in this guide.
| Word | Plain meaning |
|---|---|
| Database | The place where Neo keeps its current records. |
| Provider | An outside company Neo connects to, such as Meta, a payment company, or a courier. |
| Callback | A message an outside company sends back to Neo with an update. |
| Queue | A saved list of jobs Neo still needs to complete. |
| Adapter | The small part of Neo that knows how to talk to one outside company. |
| Kill switch | A setting that can stop a risky feature quickly. |
What is still unfinished
Neo still has work to do before every feature can be opened to everyone. This includes fully completing privacy deletion requests across Neo and outside companies, keeping permanent system-health history, automatically warning staff about every serious failure, and finishing production approval for some payment, payout, refund, and delivery paths.
When one of these checks is missing, Neo should stop the affected action and ask for review. It should not claim the action succeeded.
docs/audits/neo-systemic-product-reliability-audit.mddocs/NEO_OUTCOME_MESSAGING.md