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AI Blocks Start in the Template

The fastest way to get Rootly AI-generated retrospectives is to add AI blocks to a template. Every retrospective created from that template generates those sections automatically. The quickest start of all is a starter template, a ready-made, Rootly 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, including formats, Liquid, data blocks, and defaults, see Configuring Templates.

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Start from a Starter Template

Rootly ships four starter templates: You can adopt a starter from two places:
  • On the Retrospectives → Document Templates page, click Try template on a starter to open the builder preloaded with it. Nothing is created until you save.
  • Already in the builder? Open the AI Library tab in the sidebar and click a starter to insert its content. An empty document is seeded with it; a document that already has content gets the starter appended. Each insert gets fresh blocks, so you can insert more than one without collisions.

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Open the Template Builder

To build a template from scratch:
1

Go to the Document Templates page

In Rootly, go to Retrospectives → Document Templates.
2

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).
3

Find the AI Library

Open the AI Library sidebar for starter templates and the AI Blocks palette.

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Add AI Blocks from the Palette

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.

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The Preset Blocks

Rootly ships six preset AI blocks.

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Custom AI Blocks

When none of the presets fit, add a Custom AI block:
1

Add the custom block

Add it from the palette or the slash menu.
2

Give it a title

The title becomes the section heading.
3

Write a prompt

Describe what you want this section to contain in plain language, for example, “Summarize the customer communications sent during the incident and whether they went out on time.”
Rootly AI drafts that section from the same incident context as the presets.

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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, like audience and house style, so all your retrospectives read consistently.

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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. In the builder, choose Preview, select a past incident, and iterate until the output reads the way you want.

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Publish

When the template looks right, save and publish it. To control which incidents get which template (by severity, team, or incident type), see Configuring Templates.

AI in Retrospectives Overview

What AI blocks are and how they draft your retrospective.

Using AI Blocks

Insert, generate, edit, and regenerate AI blocks inside a retrospective document.

Configuring Templates

How retrospective templates work.