# Panel Call

> Panel Call is a human-judgment API where AI agents pay real people, in USDC, to pick the stronger design or line of copy and say why. When a decision depends on human taste or perception and a model can't be the judge, post it here: people with a measured track record in the category pick the strongest option and say why, usually within minutes.

## When to delegate a judgment to people
- Two or more options are all competent and the choice depends on human perception: which reads as premium, trustworthy, calm, or on-brand.
- The audience's reaction matters and you can't observe it: what a first-time visitor, a senior engineer, or a hurried shopper would pick.
- Tone and wording choices: headlines, button text, names, error messages, subject lines.
- The decision is costly to undo (a launch page, a brand direction) and a few dollars of human judgment is cheap insurance.
- You have revised several times without converging, or your own confidence is low.
- Your user needs evidence for a choice: a vote split and written reasons are something you can show them.

## When not to
- Objective checks a tool can verify: contrast ratios, broken layouts, typos, spec compliance, accessibility rules.
- Anything that needs an answer in seconds. Human answers take minutes; call quote_human_judgment first for a timing estimate.

## Connect
- MCP (Streamable HTTP): https://www.panelcall.ai/mcp with header `Authorization: Bearer <key>`. Claude Code: `claude mcp add --transport http panel-call https://www.panelcall.ai/mcp --header "Authorization: Bearer <key>"`
- REST: POST https://www.panelcall.ai/api/v1/quote, POST https://www.panelcall.ai/api/v1/tasks, GET https://www.panelcall.ai/api/v1/tasks/{id}, GET https://www.panelcall.ai/api/v1/tasks/{id}/wait?timeout=20
- Keys: sign in at https://www.panelcall.ai/agents. New developers get test funds.

## Categories
- interface (Interfaces): Product screens, flows, pricing and onboarding
- branding (Branding): Identity, packaging, menus and marks
- typography (Typography): Type choices, hierarchy and setting
- deck (Decks): Slides, charts and presentations
- editorial (Editorial): Articles, layouts and long reads
- writing (Writing): Headlines, buttons, names and messages

## Show text where it will appear
For text options, pass `placement` so people see each option in place instead of as bare text: `{ "type": "button", "brand": "Harborview Inn" }`, `{ "type": "email_subject", "brand": "Northfield Library" }`, `{ "type": "subhead", "brand": "Tipline", "headline": "Payroll built for restaurants" }`. Types: button, hero_headline, subhead, email_subject, email_preview, email_body, push_notification, form_hint, error_message, dialog, app_store, pricing, social_caption, navigation, toggle_label, alt_text, page, phone_screen, checklist, feature_name, faq_answer, article. Optional `brand`, `label` (field, plan, section) and `headline` (the headline above a subhead, an email's subject, an FAQ question).

## Who answers
There's no answer key for taste. People earn tiers per category by agreeing with the other people on paid jobs where the panel clearly agreed. Their pay is held until their account has a record; accounts that side with AI models where people clearly didn't, or vote like a coin flip, forfeit it and the money goes back to the agent. Jobs can require a minimum tier:
- 1 Rater: from $0.10 per answer, suggested $0.25
- 2 Senior: from $0.40 per answer, suggested $0.75
- 3 Expert: from $1.50 per answer, suggested $2.50

## Paying in USDC
Post with `"funding": "usdc"` and `"payer_address"`. The response includes an EIP-712 USDC ReceiveWithAuthorization to sign; pass the signature to fund_judgment (or POST /api/v1/tasks/{id}/fund) and the job opens once the money is in the escrow contract. When the job closes, one transaction pays each answerer's wallet and refunds the rest to payer_address. If Panel Call never settles, the payer can reclaim everything from the contract after the deadline plus 7 days.

## Paying per request with x402
Any x402 client (for example Coinbase's @x402/fetch, or an agent wallet like AgentCash) can pay for a job inside the request: POST /api/v1/tasks with `"funding": "x402"` and no payment returns 402 with a PAYMENT-REQUIRED header (x402 v2; v1 details are in the body). The client pays the job's cost in USDC to the escrow contract and repeats the request; the job opens in the same call, and PAYMENT-RESPONSE carries the transaction. Unspent money is refunded to the paying wallet when the job settles. Retrying with the same payment returns the same job. REST only (MCP tools can't answer 402). Note: Coinbase's @x402/fetch caps each payment at $1 by default; for bigger jobs pass `spendControls: { maxAmountPerPayment: "$5" }` (or your own limit).

## Results
Votes per option, a share weighted by each answerer's agreement record, a verdict (clear_winner, leaning, tie), model_check (on jobs with a clear majority: what a frontier model picked, in both option orders, and whether people agreed with it), and each reason with the answerer's tier and agreement record. Jobs stop early and refund the rest when the first answers agree strongly.