diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 6edc081..1bcad71 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -16,19 +16,20 @@
   <a href="#architecture">Architecture</a> ·
   <a href="#capabilities">Capabilities</a> ·
   <a href="#trust-boundaries">Trust boundaries</a> ·
+  <a href="#see-it-in-action">Demo</a> ·
   <a href="#reproducible-authority-handoff-evaluation">Authority eval</a> ·
   <a href="#implementation-status">Implementation status</a>
 </p>
 
 ---
 
-## Make the path to a decision visible
+## Decision intelligence that stays explainable
 
-A single score can hide missing evidence, policy limits, competing objectives, or fragile assumptions. Titan separates those concerns into explicit stages so a reviewer can see what is known, what remains uncertain, which options are eligible, why one leads, and what approval is still required.
+Teams make consequential choices with evidence scattered across systems, objectives pulling in different directions, and policy or approval requirements that are easy to lose in a score. Titan Decision Engine turns those inputs into a decision path that a reviewer can inspect from source evidence to recommendation.
 
-**Titan Decision Engine** is a modular decision-support layer for AI-assisted and human-reviewed systems. It is designed for business, operational, workforce, environmental, financial, procurement, scheduling, and other decision domains.
+**For product and platform teams**, it is a modular TypeScript decision layer for operational, workforce, financial, procurement, scheduling, environmental, and other AI-assisted workflows. It preserves evidence, uncertainty, constraints, trade-offs, provenance, and confidence so the next action is easier to evaluate and govern.
 
-> **Decision model:** subject + objectives + options + evidence + constraints + preferences → predicted outcomes and trade-offs → ranking → recommendation + confidence + authority requirements.
+> **Value proposition:** turn complex evidence into constraint-aware recommendations with a clear boundary between analysis, host approval, and execution.
 
 The engine can analyze and recommend. It does not authorize or execute the recommendation.
 
@@ -46,6 +47,10 @@ npm run example:environment
 
 `npm test` builds the package entry point and all 21 engine projects, then runs the 16 compiled TypeScript suites and five JavaScript suites. `npm run build` builds without running tests. `npm run coverage` runs the same tests through c8. The package exposes the engines through named namespaces at its root and stable subpath exports.
 
+## See it in action
+
+The [deterministic authority-gate demo](docs/authority-gate-demo.md) runs without credentials and exercises the implemented Step 27 handoff with three synthetic outcomes: an eligible recommendation is prepared, an ineligible recommendation is blocked, and an approval-required request remains undispatched. It is a compact way to see the engine's authority boundary before reading the full evaluation.
+
 ## Architecture
 
 <p align="center">