Creating playbooks

What's in this article:

• What are playbooks?
• Creating playbooks
• Testing your playbook
• Sharing playbooks
• Configuring playbooks
• Using variables in your playbook
• FAQs

What are playbooks?

Do you find yourself running the same prompts repeatedly in WRITER Agent? Or searching through past sessions to copy successful prompts? It's time to create a playbook. Playbooks are reusable workflows that automate your most common and complex tasks, saving you time and ensuring consistency. Playbooks are perfect for tasks like:

• Generating weekly reports
• Analyzing sales data
• Creating marketing campaign assets
• Onboarding new clients

Creating playbooks

You can save a WRITER Agent session as a playbook, select the Create playbook button in the top right corner.

To create a playbook from scratch, select Playbooks from the main menu on the left.

From the Playbooks page select New playbook.

This is where you define what the playbook should accomplish. Think of it as writing instructions for a highly capable assistant.

What to include in your description:

• The task objective: What final deliverable should be created?
• The data sources What information should the Agent analyze or use?
• Success criteria: What makes the output "good"?
• Specific requirements: Format, tone, length, or other constraints

Example:

Good: "You are an expert marketing manager creating social media content from https://writer.com/blog/. Extract key insights from the most recent blog post and create 3 LinkedIn posts optimized for technical audiences. Each post should be 150-200 words, include relevant hashtags, and highlight one specific feature or benefit.

Not as effective: "Create social media posts from the blog.”

In the next step you’ll be able to review, test, and edit the playbook before saving it. You’ll see WRITER Agent has given the playbook a name and description and then outlined a plan with specific steps the agent will perform to complete the job you described. Click into the text here to make any changes to the name, description, and playbook steps that you’d like.

Review checklist:

• Is the name clear and searchable?
• Does the description accurately reflect what it does?
• Are the steps in the right order?
• Are any steps missing or unnecessary?
• Do the steps reference the correct Knowledge Graphs/files/connectors?

Click directly into any text to edit it. Changes save automatically.

Testing your playbook

Once the instructions look good, you can preview and test it by selecting the ▶ play button in the top right.

Before sharing your playbook with others, test it thoroughly. Fill in any required variables in the sidebar and then select Run playbook.

A new Agent session tab will open showing the playbook in action.

What to check during testing:

• Does it access the right data sources?
• Are all steps executing in the correct order?
• Is the output format what you expected?
• Does it complete successfully without errors?
• If you run it multiple times (with the same inputs), is it consistent?

If the playbook doesn't work as expected:

1. Note which step is failing or producing wrong output
2. If you’re not sure what went wrong just chat with the Agent asking it how to adjust the playbook for better results
3. Return to the playbook editor
4. Edit that specific step with more detailed instructions
5. Test again

You can set up this playbook to run autonomously by setting up a routine by selecting the clock icon in the top right corner. Learn more about routines here.

If you’re looking at the generated playbook and are thinking to yourself, “Maybe I didn’t explain my idea as clearly as I should,” select the pencil icon and adjust the original idea the playbook was built on. You’ll see the steps on the left get adjusted and can continue to make changes as needed.

Sharing playbooks

If other members of your team would benefit from using the playbook you’ve created, select the Share button from the top right.

What can people do with shared playbooks?

• View and run the playbook
• See test results and outputs
• Create their own copies to customize
• They CANNOT edit your original playbook 

From the share screen you can select to expand your playbook to be accessible by individual members or your org or specific teams. 

You can find playbooks shared with you by navigating to Playbooks > shared with me.

You can duplicate playbooks that are shared with you by selecting the three dot menu next to the playbook and then selecting Duplicate.

Configuring your playbook

The right menu of the playbook edit includes some other options, starting with Instructions. The majority of your instructions will live in the playbook itself, however the custom instructions on the right here control more about the agent’s personality. You can learn more about configuring the personality of WRITER Agent here.

If your agent needs to connect to external tools to complete the required workflow you’ll see those in the Connectors section. You can learn more about using WRITER Agent with Connectors here.

Next you can specify the deliverable type you’d like the agent to create. Currently WRITER Agent has two options here, none and presentation. Select presentation from the dropdown if you’d like the output to be a slide deck.  The "None" option doesn't mean no output—it means the output type is defined in your playbook instructions rather than being locked to presentations.

If your playbook requires internal knowledge to complete the workflow you can select a Knowledge Graph. You can learn more about using Knowledge Graphs here. If the knowledge you’d like to connect to lives within a couple files you have access to you can add those files to the final section on the left menu.

As you make edits to your playbook you’ll see the autosave message at the top. When you’re done editing your playbook you can select the X in the top right to close it and return to the list. 

You’ll then see it displayed at the top of the list in the playbooks section. To edit your playbook you can click on it and the editor will relaunch. 

Using variables in your playbook

Variables make playbooks reusable by creating placeholders for information that changes each time you run it.

How to create a variable:

Easily create variables for text and file inputs by typing “/” and selecting the item you’d like to reference from the list. From there complete the information to configure your variable. When you go to run a playbook these variables will become text fields you input before WRITER Agent can complete the workflow.

How to identify variables in a playbook:

If you're working in a playbook that you've already created, you can edit a variable by selecting it directly within the plan.

FAQs

What is the difference between a playbook and a regular WRITER Agent session?

A playbook is a reusable, automated workflow that you can run multiple times with different inputs, while a regular Agent session is a one-time conversation. Playbooks save you time by eliminating the need to re-enter the same prompts repeatedly. Think of it like the difference between a template and a one-off document.

Can I run a playbook without filling in variables?

If your playbook includes required variables, you must fill them in before running. Optional variables can be left empty. When you click to run a playbook, you'll see which fields are required before the Agent can start working.

What is a routine and how is it different from a playbook?

A playbook is the workflow itself—the set of instructions for what WRITER Agent should do. A routine is the schedule that runs your playbook automatically at specific times. For example, you might create a "Weekly Sales Report" playbook and set up a routine to run it every Monday morning.

What makes a "good" playbook vs. a "bad" one?

Good playbooks include clear, specific instructions with well-defined objectives, data sources, and success criteria. They focus on one task and break it into logical steps. Bad playbooks are vague ("do some research"), try to do too many things at once, or lack specific requirements about format and output.

Can I edit a playbook after it's been shared with my team?

Yes! You can edit your playbook at any time, even after sharing it. However, people you've shared it with cannot edit your original playbook—they can only view it, run it, and create their own copies to customize.

How do I stop sharing a playbook with someone?

Go to the sharing settings for your playbook and remove the individual user or team that you no longer want to have access. They'll lose access to view or run the playbook, but any copies they've already created will remain theirs.

What happens if I delete a playbook that's being used by others?

If it's shared, then the shared user will no longer have access as it will be fully deleted.

What should I do if my playbook keeps failing at the same step?

First, identify which specific step is failing. Then, either chat with WRITER Agent directly in the failed session to understand what went wrong, or return to the playbook editor and add more detailed instructions to that step. Be more specific about what you want—include examples, constraints, or format requirements. Test again after making changes.

How many times should I test a playbook before sharing it?

We recommend you test your playbook at least 2-3 times with different inputs (if using variables) to ensure it produces consistent, accurate results. If it's a critical workflow that others will rely on, test it more thoroughly with edge cases and different scenarios.

Will my playbook produce the same results every time?

Playbooks should produce consistent results when run with the same inputs and data sources. However, AI-generated content may have slight variations in wording or structure. If you're seeing major inconsistencies in the output quality or format, review and refine your playbook instructions to be more specific.

Can I schedule a playbook to run automatically?

Yes! Click the clock icon in the top right corner of your playbook to set up a routine that runs your playbook on a schedule (daily, weekly, monthly, etc.). This is perfect for recurring tasks like weekly reports or daily data syncs.