Frequently Asked Questions

Understudy uses AI-guided interviews to extract knowledge from your team. Instead of asking people to write documentation, we have a conversation with them about their processes. The AI asks smart follow-up questions about edge cases, decision points, and exceptions, then structures everything into step-by-step playbooks. You just talk naturally — we handle the rest.

You can create your first playbook in 10-15 minutes. There's no complex setup, no integrations to configure, no training required. Just describe what you want to document and start the conversation. Most teams capture their first critical process on day one.

Most people find it easier than writing. Instead of staring at a blank page, they just explain what they do — like training a new hire. The AI keeps the conversation focused, so there's no rambling or wasted time. Many team members prefer this to traditional documentation because it feels natural and takes less effort.

Yes! You can start a free interview right now — no signup, no credit card required. Just click 'Try it now' at the top of the page. Create a playbook, see how it works, and decide if it's right for your team. The free tier includes up to 3 playbooks so you can test it on real processes.

Any process or workflow that lives in someone's head: onboarding procedures, client handoff processes, incident response protocols, sales workflows, compliance procedures, troubleshooting guides, operational SOPs, role-specific knowledge, and more. If it's something a person knows how to do but hasn't written down, Understudy can capture it.

Pricing starts at $29/month per seat for teams. The free tier includes up to 3 playbooks — perfect for trying it out or small teams with just a few critical processes. For larger teams or organizations with extensive documentation needs, we offer custom enterprise pricing with dedicated support, SSO, and advanced integrations.

The free tier includes up to 3 playbooks, unlimited team members who can view playbooks, basic exports (PDF, Markdown), and full access to the AI interview process. It's designed for small teams or anyone who wants to test Understudy on real processes before committing. You can upgrade anytime if you need more playbooks.

A 'seat' is anyone who creates or edits playbooks. Team members who only view or follow playbooks don't count toward your seat limit — they're free. This means you can have a small team of knowledge owners creating playbooks while your entire company benefits from them. You only pay for the people doing the documenting.

No long-term contracts required. Our paid plans are month-to-month, and you can cancel anytime. We don't believe in locking teams into annual commitments. For enterprise customers who want volume discounts or custom terms, we're happy to discuss annual agreements, but it's never required.

Yes. You can share playbooks directly in Slack channels, and team members can search your knowledge base from Slack using slash commands. We also support notifications when playbooks are updated or new ones are created. The integration makes it easy to surface the right playbook at the right time without leaving Slack.

Absolutely. You can export playbooks to Notion or Confluence with one click, preserving formatting, structure, and decision trees. Many teams use Understudy to create playbooks quickly through interviews, then push them to their existing wiki for centralized access. We also support importing existing docs to enhance them with conversational updates.

You start by describing what you want to document in one sentence. The AI then asks targeted questions to fill in the details: What happens first? What are the edge cases? Who's responsible for what? What's the most common mistake? You answer naturally, and the AI probes deeper where needed. After 10-15 minutes, it structures your answers into a step-by-step playbook with decision points, roles, and exceptions.

Yes. You can export individual playbooks or your entire knowledge base at any time. Supported formats include PDF, Markdown, Notion, Confluence, Google Docs, and JSON. Your data is always yours — no lock-in, no restrictions. Many teams export playbooks even while actively using Understudy, just to have backups or to share with external partners.

Yes. All conversations and playbooks are encrypted at rest and in transit. We never use your data to train AI models. Your institutional knowledge stays private and is only accessible to people you authorize. We're SOC 2 Type II compliant and offer enterprise features like SSO, audit logs, and custom data residency for regulated industries.

When someone leaves your company, Understudy captures everything they know before they walk out the door. Schedule a 30-minute interview in their last week, and the AI will extract their institutional knowledge: workflows they own, quirks of the systems they manage, decision-making frameworks, tribal knowledge that never made it into docs. You get playbooks that preserve their expertise so the next person can hit the ground running.

Absolutely. Instead of overwhelming new hires with scattered docs or relying on tribal knowledge, give them clear, step-by-step playbooks for every critical process. New team members can follow the playbooks on day one without constant interruptions to senior staff. Many teams see onboarding time cut by 30-50% because new hires have structured, actionable guidance instead of vague wikis.

Yes. Regulated industries often need documented processes for audits, but the people who know those processes rarely have time to write them. Understudy interviews your team, captures exactly how procedures are executed (not just how they're supposed to be), and generates audit-ready documentation. The AI catches edge cases and exceptions that often get missed in traditional documentation, making your compliance docs more accurate and useful.

Most teams see immediate value. Your first playbook is ready in 10-15 minutes, and you can start using it that same day. For onboarding, teams typically see a measurable reduction in ramp time within the first month. For operational processes, the payoff is instant: instead of asking Sarah for the third time how to handle X, new team members just follow the playbook.

Common metrics include: reduced onboarding time (often 30-50% faster), fewer repeated questions to senior staff (saving hours per week), lower knowledge loss during transitions (measured by how quickly roles can be backfilled), and increased process consistency. Some teams also track documentation coverage — what percentage of critical processes are actually documented. Most see ROI within the first quarter.

You keep everything. Before canceling, you can export your entire knowledge base in any format (PDF, Markdown, Notion, Confluence, JSON). There's no lock-in, and your data is always yours. Many teams export their playbooks even while actively using Understudy, just to have backups or to share with external partners.