A Playbook is a structured set of legal positions you maintain in Xakia and use to drive AI document reviews in the Word Add-In. Each Playbook represents your standard position on a particular contract type — for example, an NDA Playbook, a Master Services Agreement Playbook or a Consultant Terms of Engagement Playbook. This article walks through how to create a new Playbook and populate it with clauses and positions.
Note: Playbooks are stored at the Location level. They become available for selection in the Word Add-In's Review tab as soon as they're saved and active.
Playbook structure
Every Playbook follows the same hierarchy:
Playbook — with a Title and an optional Governing Law.
Sections — logical groupings within the Playbook (you can have one or many).
Clauses — the individual issues you want the AI to assess in any document reviewed against this Playbook.
Positions — each Clause holds up to three Positions: Must Have, Want and Will Accept.
Navigate to Knowledge Management
Go to Admin > Knowledge Management. The Playbooks tab lists every Playbook in the Location. Click Add New Playbook in the top-right to start a new one.
Step 1: Set the Title and Governing Law
Give the Playbook a Title that describes the contract type clearly — this is what users will see when picking a Playbook in the Word Add-In. Optionally enter a Governing Law (for example, NSW Australia). The Governing Law is used by the AI when Playbook Jurisdiction is selected on the review configuration screen.
Title — required.
Governing Law — optional.
Step 2: Add Sections
A new Playbook starts with one empty Section by default. Click the Section title to give it a name (for example, Confidentiality, Liability and Indemnity, or Term and Termination). Click Add Section at the bottom to add more — most Playbooks group related clauses into a few clear Sections, but a single Section is fine for shorter Playbooks.
Step 3: Add Clauses
Inside each Section, click Add Clause to create a new clause. Each Clause has:
Title — a short name for the clause (for example, Definition of Confidential Information).
Issue to review — required. A description of the issue you want the AI to assess in any document reviewed against this Playbook.
Positions — up to three Positions per clause: Must Have, Want and Will Accept.
Step 4: Populate the Positions
Each Position has a single field — a Description that captures your stance on this clause at that level. Expand a Position to fill in its Description.
Must Have — required. The non-negotiable red line. Anything below this is always flagged regardless of Review Style. Use this for the absolute minimum the document must achieve.
Want — optional. Your preferred negotiating outcome — the ideal wording or position. Used by Strict reviews as the benchmark.
Will Accept — optional. The lowest position you would accept. Used by Balanced reviews as the benchmark.
Step 5: Save
Click Save at the top or bottom of the editor to commit your changes. The Playbook becomes available immediately in the Word Add-In's Review tab.
Editing and versioning
Open any Playbook from the Knowledge Management list and click Edit to revise it. The editor shows the current Version, the Last Update date and the user who last edited it at the top of the screen. Sections and Clauses can be renamed, reordered using the drag handles, or deleted using the trash icon. Positions can be edited or left blank as your standard evolves.
Activating and deactivating
Use the Active column on the Knowledge Management list to control which Playbooks appear in the Word Add-In. Click Deactivate to hide a Playbook from the Add-In without deleting it, or Activate to bring it back. This is useful for parking a Playbook that's under revision.
Best practices
Be specific in Issue to review — this is what the AI uses to identify the relevant clause in the document. Vague descriptions produce vague results.
Use clear, complete Position descriptions — the AI uses these as the benchmark for its assessment and as the basis for suggested replacement wording. The clearer your description, the better the suggestions.
Refine over time — treat your Playbook as a living document. Update it whenever your standard position evolves or when you spot patterns the AI is missing.
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Need help?
If you have any questions, please contact us at support@xakiatech.com or reach out to your Customer Success Manager.