Playbooks give agents repeatable procedures for recurring analysis. Use them when a request should follow a defined sequence, such as a budget variance review, vendor renewal review, or month-end spend report.
They are useful when the order of steps, required inputs, calculations, and expected output need to stay consistent from one request to the next.
Playbook, Skill, or Automation?
|
Component |
Use it for |
|---|---|
|
Playbook |
Specify steps to follow when a user requests a repeatable analysis |
|
Skill |
Apply reusable instructions for reasoning, formatting, or response content |
|
Automation |
Run a workflow on a trigger without requiring a new chat request |
Create a Playbook
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Open Admin > AI Studio > Orchestrate > Playbooks.
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Select + Add Playbook.
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Enter Title and Description. The description should identify which questions call for the Playbook.
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Enter Content with the procedure, required inputs, data checks, calculation rules, and expected output.
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Add Conversation Starters that resemble real requests, when useful.
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Select Save.
Write Playbook content
Define:
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Scope and required inputs, such as period, entity, currency, cost centre, or materiality threshold.
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Data Sources and available fields the procedure depends on.
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Ordered steps and calculations, including any explicit formulas or filters.
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Expected output and how the Playbook should handle missing values or unsupported conclusions.
If a required input is missing, the Playbook should ask for it or state the limitation. Do not guess values, dates, clauses, or reasons that are not supported by approved data.
Example: Month-end budget variance review
Scenario: IT finance wants one consistent method for investigating cost-centre variances during each month-end close.
|
Playbook part |
Example instructions |
|---|---|
|
When to use |
User requests a budget versus actual review for a period and financial scope |
|
Inputs |
Period, cost centres, entity, currency, materiality threshold |
|
Steps |
Retrieve approved actuals and budget for matching scope; calculate Actual minus Budget; rank material differences; review available drivers |
|
Output |
Variance amount and percentage, top drivers supported by records, unresolved gaps, recommended follow-up |
|
Missing data |
Ask for missing scope; explain unavailable measures; never invent values or reasons |
Sample conversation starter: Review September IT budget variance for my cost centres. Show top differences and supporting drivers.
How Playbooks are used
When a user asks a question in Ask Yarken, the orchestrator evaluates:
The system evaluates user intent and available procedures. A relevant Playbook can guide the sequence of analysis; a Specialist provides domain knowledge and approved Data Sources provide the figures. A Skill may shape the final response.
Import a Playbook
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Open Admin > AI Studio > Orchestrate > Playbooks.
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Select Import.
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Upload a supported .csv or .xlsx file.
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Open the imported Playbook and review its Title, Description, Content, Conversation Starters, and active status.
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Confirm named Data Sources and other dependencies exist in the current environment. Test before relying on the imported procedure.
Review after import
Open the imported Playbook and check its Title, Description, Content, Conversation Starters, and active status.
Verify any referenced Data Sources, Specialists, and Skills exist and are appropriate in the target environment. An import file does not create or validate those dependencies.
Important: Importing a Playbook does not confirm analytical accuracy. Review calculations, procedure order, source fields, and dependency references before use.
Test a Playbook
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Ask a question that should use the Playbook, with a realistic period and scope.
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Compare calculations with the original saved report or approved source and confirm the procedure follows the intended order.
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Repeat the request without a required parameter. The response should request the missing detail or clearly state the limitation.
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Ask an unrelated question. Check the Playbook does not apply unnecessarily.
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Edit the description or content when the trigger is too broad or the method produces unsupported conclusions.
Maintain Playbooks
Review procedures after reporting measures, finance policies, or business definitions change. Deactivate a Playbook when it should not run but its configuration must remain available for future editing. Avoid maintaining competing Playbooks with overlapping scope and inconsistent calculations.
Review shared dependencies before changing a Playbook. Updates to procedure logic, referenced sources, or required fields can affect the quality of downstream Ask Yarken analysis.
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