What is a Playbook?
A playbook is your organization’s contract negotiation knowledge, written down in a way that Pactly’s AI can understand and apply. It captures what your most experienced legal counsel would look for in a contract—and makes that expertise available to everyone who reviews contracts.
Why Playbooks Exist
Section titled “Why Playbooks Exist”Consider how contract review typically works without a playbook:
- A vendor sends you a contract
- You read through 30 pages looking for issues
- You’re not sure what’s “standard” for some clauses
- You ask a senior colleague—if they’re available
- Different reviewers apply different standards
- Some risks slip through; others get over-negotiated
A playbook solves this by codifying your organization’s standards. Instead of each reviewer deciding what matters, the playbook tells them: “Here’s what we require for liability caps. Here’s what we accept for governing law. Here’s what we never agree to.”
When you run a playbook review in Pactly, the AI applies these standards automatically—flagging issues and providing guidance, just like having that experienced colleague looking over your shoulder.
What’s Inside a Playbook
Section titled “What’s Inside a Playbook”A playbook contains positions. Each position covers one contract topic—a specific type of clause or provision you care about.
Example Position: Limitation of Liability
Section titled “Example Position: Limitation of Liability”Here’s what a position looks like in practice:
Position Name: Limitation of Liability
Guidance:
Our liability should be capped at the fees paid in the 12 months preceding a claim. Mutual caps are preferred. If the counterparty proposes unlimited liability or a cap exceeding 24 months of fees, escalate to Legal Director. Never accept unlimited liability for direct damages.
Keywords: “limitation of liability”, “liability cap”, “aggregate liability”, “total liability shall not exceed”
Fallback Clause:
The total aggregate liability of either party under this Agreement shall not exceed the fees paid by Customer in the twelve (12) months preceding the event giving rise to such liability.
When you run a review, Pactly’s AI:
- Searches the contract for clauses matching those keywords
- Reads the guidance to understand your requirements
- Evaluates whether the contract clause meets your standard
- Shows the result: Compliant, Non-Compliant, or Uncertain
- Provides the fallback clause if you need alternative language
Position Components
Section titled “Position Components”Every position has these parts:
| Component | Purpose | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Identifies the topic | ”Limitation of Liability” |
| Guidance | Your requirements, written in plain language | ”Cap should be 12 months of fees…” |
| Keywords | Help the AI find relevant clauses | ”liability cap”, “limitation of liability” |
| Fallbacks | Pre-approved alternative language | Your standard liability clause |
The guidance is the heart of each position. Write it as if you’re explaining to a junior colleague what to look for and what to do when they find it.
How the AI Uses Your Playbook
Section titled “How the AI Uses Your Playbook”When you start a playbook review:
- Document Analysis: The AI reads the entire contract
- Clause Finding: For each position, it identifies relevant clauses using keywords and semantic understanding
- Evaluation: It compares each clause against your guidance
- Assessment: It determines compliance status:
- Compliant — Meets your requirements
- Non-Compliant — Doesn’t meet your requirements
- Uncertain — Can’t determine; needs human review
- Not Found — No relevant clause found
- Recommendations: For non-compliant items, it explains the issue and offers fallback language
The result is a prioritized list of issues with actionable guidance—not just a generic risk score.
Playbooks vs Templates
Section titled “Playbooks vs Templates”These are complementary but different:
| Playbooks | Templates |
|---|---|
| For contracts you receive | For contracts you create |
| Define what to look for | Define what to generate |
| Used with third-party paper | Used with your paper |
| Contain positions and guidance | Contain actual contract language |
Most organizations use both:
- Templates when drafting contracts to send out (customer agreements, vendor contracts you initiate)
- Playbooks when reviewing contracts received from counterparties
Who Creates and Uses Playbooks
Section titled “Who Creates and Uses Playbooks”Creating playbooks (typically done by):
- Legal operations
- Senior counsel
- Contract managers
- Pactly administrators
These are the people who know your negotiation standards and can articulate them clearly.
Using playbooks (everyone who reviews contracts):
- Legal team members
- Business stakeholders
- Procurement staff
- Anyone reviewing third-party contracts
You don’t need to create a playbook to use one. If your organization has playbooks set up, you just select the right one and run a review.
Getting Started
Section titled “Getting Started”If your organization already has playbooks:
- Learn which playbook applies to your contract type (ask your legal team)
- Run a review in the Word add-in
- Follow the guidance for each flagged issue
If you need to create playbooks:
- Start with your most common contract type
- Gather existing negotiation guidelines and redline history
- Define positions for your key risk areas
- Test against recent contracts
- Refine based on results
See Creating Your First Playbook for step-by-step instructions.
Key Takeaways
Section titled “Key Takeaways”- A playbook captures your negotiation standards so the AI can apply them
- Each position covers one topic: what to look for, what’s acceptable, what to propose instead
- Playbooks are for reviewing incoming contracts (third-party paper)
- You don’t need to create playbooks to use them—someone else may have set them up for you
Next Steps
Section titled “Next Steps”- Creating Your First Playbook — Build a playbook from scratch
- Writing Effective Positions — Craft guidance that works
- Quick Start: Reviewing Contracts in Word — Run your first review