Company Brain and context
What is a playbook? Definition and examples
Also: Runbook, standard operating procedure
In short
A playbook describes a recurring task so that people and AI agents run it the same way: with its knowledge, steps and approvals. The result then no longer depends on who happens to do the work.
Why it matters: Good ways of working become repeatable, even when an AI agent does the work.
- 01
Trigger
A recurring task comes up
- 02
Load knowledge
Current decisions, rules, sources
- 03
Run the steps
Person or AI agent, same way
- 04
Approve
A person checks what matters
Why does Playbook matter for your company?
In many companies the best way of doing something lives in a few people's heads. Every offer review, quarterly review and customer escalation runs a little differently. For people that is tiring; for AI agents it is a problem, because without clear instructions they guess.
A playbook records which knowledge a task needs, which steps follow and where a person approves. People and AI agents work from it, and improvements flow back into the playbook instead of into one person's habits.
Example: Checking every offer against the strategy
After the decision “Strategy 2027: focus on the DACH mid-market, no US expansion”, every sales lead reviews offers differently. One asks about the market, one about the margin, one not at all. An AI assistant keeps drafting offers for US customers because nobody gave it the new rule.
With an “offer review” playbook the routine is recorded once: load the strategy and price list, check market and margin, get approval above a threshold. People and AI agents follow the same steps, and leadership sees which offers deviate from the decision.
3 common mistakes to avoid
Writing a document nobody uses
A playbook is not a slide deck for the archive. It is read every time the task runs, by people and AI agents alike.
Leaving out the knowledge
Steps alone are not enough. Without the current decisions, prices and rules an AI agent follows the instructions neatly, but from the wrong state.
Building in no approvals
Where a mistake gets expensive, a person needs to approve. A playbook says where that is instead of leaving it to chance.
Step by step
- 1
Pick one recurring task
Choose a task that comes up often and runs differently every time today.
- 2
Record the best way
Ask the person who does it best and write the steps down briefly.
- 3
Add knowledge and approvals
Link the sources it needs and decide where a person approves.
- 4
Test with people and AI agents
Let both work from it and compare the results.
- 5
Improve after every run
Whatever does not fit, change in the playbook, not in a note beside it.
Bring one important decision.
In 30 minutes with Marc or Simon we show where your work drifts from the decision today.
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Related terms
- AI agent →An AI agent is a program that uses a language model to pursue a goal, plan its own steps and use tools to get there.
- Human in the Loop →Human in the loop means a person reviews and approves an AI process at defined points before it continues.
- Organisational memory →Organisational memory is what a company knows and keeps about itself: decisions, experience and reasons, independent of individual people.
- Company Brain →A Company Brain is a company's shared memory: it connects knowledge, decisions and meeting notes from the tools you already use in one place.