AI blocks start in the template
The fastest way to get AI-generated retrospectives is to add AI blocks to a template. Every retrospective created from that template will generate those sections automatically — so your team gets a consistent first draft every time, without anyone inserting blocks by hand. The quickest start of all is a starter template — a ready-made, AI-powered template you can adopt in one click. You can also drop AI blocks into an individual document on the fly (see Using AI Blocks), but templates are where you set the standard for the whole team. For how templates work in general — formats, Liquid, data blocks, and defaults — see Configuring Templates.Start from a starter template
If you don’t want to build from scratch, start from a starter template — a curated, AI-powered template that already has the right AI blocks and structure for a common scenario. Most teams only ever use the basic default template, so starters are the fastest way to get the full value of AI blocks. Rootly ships four starter templates:| Starter template | Best for | What’s inside |
|---|---|---|
| Standard Incident Retrospective | A thorough, all-purpose retro | Summary, Impact, Root Cause, Mitigation, and Resolution AI blocks, plus Timeline and Follow-ups data blocks |
| Quick Retro | Low-severity incidents and fast write-ups | A Summary AI block, plus Timeline and Follow-ups data blocks |
| Customer-Facing RCA / COE | A root-cause analysis you can share with customers | Summary, Impact, Root Cause, and Resolution AI blocks, plus corrective-action Follow-ups |
| Major Incident (SEV1) Deep-Dive | High-severity, leadership-visible incidents | All six AI blocks, plus Timeline and Follow-ups data blocks |
Try a starter from the Document Templates page
Open the Document Templates page
In Rootly, go to Retrospectives → Document Templates. The AI Starter Templates section sits above your team’s own templates.
Pick a starter and click Try template
Each starter card shows a preview thumbnail, name, and description. Click Try template to open the full template builder preloaded with that starter’s content.
Insert a starter while you’re building
Already in the template builder? Open the AI Library tab in the sidebar. It has two parts: Starter templates at the top and the AI Blocks palette below.- Click a starter to insert its content. If your document is empty, the starter seeds it; if you’ve already added content, the starter’s content is appended.
- You can insert more than one — each insert gets fresh blocks, so nothing collides.
Open the template builder
To build a template from scratch:Create a template
Click New Template for a blank document, or Try template on a starter to begin from a ready-made one (see above).
Add AI blocks from the palette
The AI Blocks palette sits in the AI Library sidebar tab, below the starter templates. To add an AI block:- Drag it from the palette into the position you want in the document, or
- Click into the document, type
/, and pick it from the slash menu.
The preset blocks
Rootly ships six preset AI blocks. Each one has an expert prompt behind it, so it knows how to write that section from the incident’s context.| Block | What it drafts |
|---|---|
| Summary | A concise overview of what happened, the impact, and how it was resolved. |
| Impact | Who and what was affected — customers, services, scope, and duration. |
| Root Cause | The underlying cause and contributing factors. |
| Mitigation | The immediate steps taken to reduce or stop the impact. |
| Resolution | How the incident was fully resolved. |
| Curated Timeline | A readable, narrative timeline of the key moments. This is different from the raw Timeline data block, which lists every event — the Curated Timeline summarizes the story. |
Custom AI blocks
When none of the presets fit, add a Custom AI block:
Rootly drafts that section from the same incident context as the presets.
Steer generation with instructions
You don’t have to accept the preset prompts as-is. You can layer your own guidance on top:- Per-block custom instructions. Add instructions to any preset block to put your own spin on it — for example, “Write Impact in customer-minutes-lost” or “Keep Root Cause to three sentences and name the failing service.” The instruction is saved on the template and applied every time that block generates.
- Template-level general instructions. Set instructions that apply to every AI block in the template — tone, audience, house style — so all your retrospectives read consistently.
Instructions are saved on the template, so they apply on every generation and regeneration — both for new documents and when a reader regenerates a block later.
Preview against a past incident
Before you roll a template out, preview it against a real past incident to see exactly what each AI block would produce with that incident’s data.Review the generated output
Rootly generates the document as it would for that incident, including the AI block content.
Publish
When the template looks right, save and publish it. New retrospectives created from that template will generate its AI blocks automatically. To control which incidents get which template (by severity, team, or incident type), see Configuring Templates.FAQs
Do I have to use a template to get AI blocks?
Do I have to use a template to get AI blocks?
No — you can insert AI blocks into any document on the fly from the editor’s slash menu. But adding them to a template is how you make every retrospective generate them automatically.
What are starter templates?
What are starter templates?
Four curated, AI-powered templates that ship with Rootly: Standard Incident Retrospective, Quick Retro, Customer-Facing RCA / COE, and Major Incident (SEV1) Deep-Dive. Each already contains the right AI blocks and data blocks for that scenario. Use Try template on the Document Templates page to start a new template from one, or insert one from the AI Library tab while you’re building.
Does trying a starter change my existing templates?
Does trying a starter change my existing templates?
No. Try template opens the builder preloaded with the starter’s content, but nothing is created until you save — and saving adds a new template, it never overwrites your existing ones.
What's the difference between the Curated Timeline block and the Timeline data block?
What's the difference between the Curated Timeline block and the Timeline data block?
The Timeline data block lists every event on the incident. The Curated Timeline AI block writes a readable narrative of the key moments. Many teams use both.
Where are custom instructions saved?
Where are custom instructions saved?
On the template. They’re applied every time the block generates, including when someone regenerates it later in a document.
Can I reuse a custom block across templates?
Can I reuse a custom block across templates?
Not yet — custom blocks are defined per template. A reusable custom-block library is on the roadmap.