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AI workflow · Operations · Process documentation

SOP Creation with AI

SOP creation with AI turns the way an experienced person explains a task out loud into a numbered procedure with prerequisites, steps, decision points and common mistakes — which you then test by having a newcomer follow it.

TeamOperations
LevelBeginner
ToolsChatGPT · Claude · Copilot
How it usually goes
  • The process lives in one person’s head.
  • Documentation is always next quarter’s project.
  • New hires learn by interrupting.
The workflow · 5 steps
  1. 1

    Record the expert doing it once

    Screen recording with narration, or a voice memo explaining each step. Ten minutes of talking beats an hour of writing.

  2. 2

    Transcribe and paste

    Most recorders transcribe automatically. Leave the rambling in; the model handles it.

  3. 3

    Ask for a fixed SOP structure

    Purpose, when to use it, what you need before starting, numbered steps, decision points ("if X, then Y"), common mistakes, who to ask.

  4. 4

    Ask what is missing

    Have the model list every place where the expert said "you just know" or skipped a step. Take those questions back to the expert.

  5. 5

    Test on a newcomer

    Hand the SOP to someone who has never done the task. Every question they ask is a missing line.

The prompt · copy and paste
Below is a transcript of an experienced colleague explaining how to do a task.

Write an SOP with these sections:
1. Purpose (one sentence)
2. When to use this / when not to
3. Before you start (access, files, information needed)
4. Steps — numbered, one action per step, start each with a verb
5. Decision points — "If …, then …"
6. Common mistakes
7. Who to ask

Then list GAPS: every place the explanation assumed knowledge or skipped a step. Phrase each as a question for the expert.
Do not invent steps to fill gaps.

TRANSCRIPT:
[paste]
Example output · fictional company
4. Steps
  1. Open the weekly shipments export in the shared drive (Reports > Weekly).
  2. Filter column F to the current week.
  3. Copy the filtered rows into the "Input" tab of the summary workbook.

GAPS
- Step 2: which date counts as "current week" when a week spans two months?
- "Then you fix the usual ones" — which errors, and how?

The full reusable version, with input fields and customisation notes: SOP Builder Template.

Before it goes out · a person checks

Review checklist

  • A newcomer completed the task using only the SOP.
  • Every GAP question has been answered by the expert and folded in.
  • Steps contain no passwords, keys or personal data.
  • An owner and a review date are on the document.
Don’t use it for

Where this workflow stops

  • Safety-critical or regulated procedures without formal review by the responsible person.
  • Processes that change weekly — document the stable part only.

Part of AI for Operations. Not sure your team is ready for workflows like this? Take the AI Readiness Assessment — 10 questions, no email. Want your team to build this on its own work? See how training works.

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Bring one task.
Leave with it running.

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