> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.rootly.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Building AI Templates

> Add Rootly AI blocks to a retrospective template, steer them with custom instructions, and preview the output against a past incident before rollout.

## 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 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](#start-from-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](/ai/ai-in-retrospectives/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](/retrospectives/configuring-templates).

## Start from a starter template

If you don't want to build from scratch, start from a **starter template** — a curated, Rootly 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                                                 |

There are two ways to use a starter.

### Try a starter from the Document Templates page

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the Document Templates page">
    In Rootly, go to **Retrospectives → Document Templates**. The **AI Starter Templates** section sits above your team's own templates.
  </Step>

  <Step title="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.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Make it your own">
    Rename it, adjust the blocks and instructions, and save. Nothing is created until you save — backing out leaves no template behind.
  </Step>
</Steps>

### 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:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Go to the Document Templates page">
    In Rootly, go to **Retrospectives → Document Templates**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="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).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Find the AI Library">
    The builder opens with a two-panel layout: the document you're building on one side, and the **AI Library** sidebar — starter templates and the AI Blocks palette — on the other.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## 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.

In the document, AI blocks sit alongside the other building blocks you already use — headings, text, the Timeline and Follow-ups data blocks, and Liquid variables.

## 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**:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Add the custom block">
    Add it from the palette or the slash menu.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Give it a title">
    The title becomes the section heading.
  </Step>

  <Step title="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."*
  </Step>
</Steps>

Rootly AI 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.

<Info>
  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.
</Info>

## 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.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Choose Preview">
    In the builder, choose **Preview** and select a past incident.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Review the generated output">
    Rootly AI generates the document as it would for that incident, including the AI block content.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Refine and preview again">
    Adjust your blocks and instructions, and preview again until it reads the way you want.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## 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](/retrospectives/configuring-templates).

***

## FAQs

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Do I have to use a template to get AI blocks?" icon="file-lines">
    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.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What are starter templates?" icon="sparkles">
    Four curated, Rootly 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.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Does trying a starter change my existing templates?" icon="pen">
    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.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What's the difference between the Curated Timeline block and the Timeline data block?" icon="timeline">
    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.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Where are custom instructions saved?" icon="floppy-disk">
    On the template. They're applied every time the block generates, including when someone regenerates it later in a document.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I reuse a custom block across templates?" icon="repeat">
    Not yet — custom blocks are defined per template. A reusable custom-block library is on the roadmap.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>