diff --git a/.github/scripts/close_low_quality_prs.py b/.github/scripts/close_low_quality_prs.py
index 6338ad380ce..95335aec167 100644
--- a/.github/scripts/close_low_quality_prs.py
+++ b/.github/scripts/close_low_quality_prs.py
@@ -116,7 +116,10 @@ def is_external_pr_author(pr: dict, repo: str | None) -> bool:
     if login.endswith("[bot]") or login in {"dependabot", "github-actions"}:
         return False
     association = fetch_pr_author_association(pr["number"], repo)
-    if association in INTERNAL_AUTHOR_ASSOCIATIONS:
+    # Fail-safe: if the API lookup failed (empty string), treat the author as
+    # internal so we don't auto-close their PR. Auto-close is destructive, so
+    # an unknown association should never make a PR eligible for closing.
+    if not association or association in INTERNAL_AUTHOR_ASSOCIATIONS:
         return False
     return True
 
diff --git a/.github/scripts/triage_with_llm.py b/.github/scripts/triage_with_llm.py
index 3062770dbe9..1c6c87aeb0b 100644
--- a/.github/scripts/triage_with_llm.py
+++ b/.github/scripts/triage_with_llm.py
@@ -520,7 +520,7 @@ def render_summary(result: dict) -> str:
     comment = result.get("comment")
     if comment:
         lines.append("")
-        lines.append("### Would post comment:")
+        lines.append("### Posted comment:")
         lines.append("")
         lines.append("> " + comment.replace("\n", "\n> "))
     return "\n".join(lines)