How to write SOPs and process docs with AI: a step-by-step guide

By the end of this guide you will have a written standard operating procedure (SOP) for one process: numbered steps with screenshots or short notes, tested by someone other than the author and ready to share with your team. The AI does the tedious part. You perform the task once while a tool records it, and the tool drafts the steps, titles and descriptions for you to edit.

If you want to write an SOP with AI, the useful question is whether you will document by recording the work, or by writing from notes. This guide compares four tools from our Productivity category and walks through the steps for both routes.

Key takeaways

• Perform the process once while a capture tool records it, let the AI draft the steps, then edit the draft and have a newcomer test it.
• The main decision is how you capture: browser and desktop clicks, a narrated screen recording, a team video library, or notes you turn into a Word document.
• Free options are limited. Floik's Starter plan caps published guides at 5 and video recordings at 5 minutes.
• An SOP is a record of how work must be done. A person who owns the process should review every step, especially for safety, legal or compliance tasks.

What you need before you start

• One process to document. Pick a single repeatable task, such as onboarding a customer, issuing a refund or publishing a post.
• A person who knows the process. Ideally the one who does it weekly, not someone guessing.
• A tool account. Some tools use a browser extension, so check your browser and operating system.
• Time. A short SOP takes under an hour to capture, edit and test.
• Difficulty. Easy. No writing background needed.
• Permission to record. If the process shows customer data, passwords or other people's screens, plan to redact or choose a test account. If you record a voice or a colleague, ask first.

Which kind of AI tool fits this job

Choose by how the work gets done and who will read the SOP.

Click-by-click capture for software processes. Scribe captures clicks on websites with a Chrome or Edge extension, covers other applications with a desktop app, and accepts screenshots uploaded from mobile and tablet. Each capture becomes a guide with annotated screenshots and AI-written titles and descriptions. You can edit it, brand it, redact sensitive data and group several guides into one process document. The desktop application is a Pro and Enterprise feature.

Record once, get a guide, a demo or a video. Floik captures a workflow through a Chrome extension, writes the instructions, titles and descriptions with AI, and can add voiceover in 40+ languages. Output can be a guide, an SOP, an interactive demo or a narrated video, shared by link or embedded in a help centre, or exported to MP4, PDF, HTML or Markdown depending on plan.

A video library that becomes team knowledge. Bral turns screen and voice recordings into queryable team knowledge. From one recording, teammates can ask questions, generate step-by-step workflows, produce documentation and create Jira issues. This suits know-how that experts explain out loud rather than process steps that live in software.

Drafting the document from notes. Cortex Workspace is an AI workspace with desktop agents that can create Word, Excel and PowerPoint files. It is not a dedicated documentation tool, so treat it as a route for turning your own notes into a Word SOP when no software capture is needed.

Step 1: Choose one process and its owner

A small, specific SOP gets used. A vague one does not.

1. Pick a process that is repeated often or goes wrong when people improvise.
2. Name an owner who will approve the SOP and keep it current.
3. Write the start and end point in one sentence, for example "from receiving a request to sending the confirmation".
4. List who will follow the SOP and what they already know.

Check it worked by confirming the owner agrees the scope matches how the work is really done.

Step 2: Choose how you will capture the process

You end this step with a tool picked and set up.

1. If the process happens in software, use a click capture tool such as Scribe or Floik. Scribe lists web, Windows and macOS capture, while Floik lists a Chrome extension.
2. If an expert explains the process out loud, record a video and use Bral to turn it into steps and documentation.
3. If it is a physical or offline process, write notes or dictate them, then draft the SOP in a document tool. Cortex Workspace lists Word file creation.
4. Check the plan: Scribe's desktop app needs Pro or Enterprise, and Floik's Starter plan has caps.

Check it worked by running a short test capture and seeing it recorded.

Step 3: Perform the process once while capturing

The tool follows what you do, so do it the way the SOP should say.

1. Clean up first: close unrelated tabs and notifications.
2. Use test data or a sandbox account if the process involves customer details.
3. Start the capture, then work through the process at a steady pace without skipping or backtracking.
4. If the tool takes voice, say what you are doing and why. Bral turns recorded explanations into documentation.
5. Stop the capture when the end point is reached.

Check it worked by seeing a list of captured steps with a screenshot or clip for each.

Step 4: Let the AI draft the steps

The draft is a starting point, not the finished SOP.

1. Open the generated guide. Scribe and Floik both write titles and descriptions with AI.
2. Read each step against what you actually did.
3. Merge steps that are really one action, and split steps that hide two.
4. Delete accidental clicks and detours.

Check it worked by being able to follow the written steps without the recording.

Step 5: Add what the screenshots cannot show

Capture tools record actions, not reasons. This is the part only you can write.

1. Add a one-paragraph purpose and who it applies to.
2. Add the why behind non-obvious steps and the decisions people must make, with the options spelled out.
3. Add warnings, common errors and what to do when something fails.
4. Add owners, timing and links to forms or related SOPs.
5. Redact sensitive data. Scribe lists automatic, manual and admin-enforced redaction, and Floik can blur sensitive data before sharing.

Check it worked by asking whether a new colleague could handle an error using only the document.

Step 6: Test it with someone new

An SOP is only proven when a person other than the author can follow it.

1. Give the SOP to someone who has not done the task and ask them to complete it without help.
2. Watch where they stop, guess or ask a question.
3. Fix those spots in the text, and re-test if the changes are large.
4. Have a subject-matter owner approve it before release, especially for safety, legal, financial or compliance processes.

Check it worked by the tester finishing the task and getting the expected result.

Step 7: Publish, own and review

Documents rot unless someone owns them.

1. Share the SOP where people will look. Scribe guides can be shared by link or embed, or added to Confluence, Slack and Copilot. Floik can embed in a help centre or knowledge base.
2. Record the owner, version and date on the document.
3. Set a review reminder, and update the SOP when the software or policy changes. Floik says guides can be edited and republished as the process changes.
4. Link related SOPs together, for example by grouping guides on one Scribe page.

Check it worked by finding the SOP quickly from the place your team normally works.

Tools for this job compared

Tool	Good fit for	Pricing	Stated limits
Scribe	Software processes captured on web, Windows and macOS	Freemium	Desktop app is Pro and Enterprise only; plans apply to the whole team; dollar prices not published
Floik	Guides, SOPs, demos and narrated videos from a Chrome recording	Freemium	Starter caps published Flos at 5 and recordings at 5 minutes; some exports need annual billing
Bral	Turning expert screen recordings into searchable team knowledge	Free trial, paid from $49/mo (checked 24 Oct 2026)	Team Plan includes 10 integrations; Enterprise pricing is by sales; parts of the site refer to early access
Cortex Workspace	Drafting a Word document from your own notes, on web and Windows	Freemium, paid from $4.99/mo (checked 24 Oct 2026)	Heavier models consume more credits; premium model use is capped on some plans

Prices and plan limits change, so confirm the current terms on each vendor's site before you subscribe.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Documenting what you wish happened. Capturing a tidy version of the process produces an SOP no one can follow in real life. Fix it by recording the real task, then improving the process separately.
• Publishing the AI draft as is. AI titles and descriptions can be vague or wrong, and a capture includes stray clicks. Fix it by editing every step and testing it with a newcomer.
• Leaking private data in screenshots. Captures can include customer names, emails or credentials. Fix it by using test accounts and the redaction options the tool provides, then re-check before sharing.
• Writing steps with no reasons. Readers who do not know why a step exists skip it. Fix it by adding a short why and a warning where the step matters.
• No owner and no review date. An unmaintained SOP becomes wrong, and people stop trusting it. Fix it by naming an owner and setting a review reminder.

How we put this together

This is an evidence-based guide built from each tool's listing in our directory, which is compiled from the vendor's own site and pricing page. It is not a review based on using the tools. We don't rank tools, and nobody paid to be included. Some outbound links may be affiliate links; see our disclosure.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a free way to write an SOP with AI?

Partly. Floik has a free Starter plan with no credit card, capped at 5 published guides and 5-minute recordings. Cortex Workspace has a Free plan. Scribe does not publish dollar prices in its plan descriptions, so check its pricing page.

Can AI write an SOP from scratch?

It can draft one from a recording or from your notes, but it cannot know your real process, risks or rules. Use it for the first draft, then have the process owner edit and approve the result.

Which tool is best for software processes?

We do not rank tools. Scribe and Floik both capture software workflows through a browser extension and write the steps with AI, so compare their plans, export formats and caps against what you need.

Do I need to record my screen?

Not always. For offline or judgment-heavy processes, writing from notes can work better. Recording suits software workflows, where each click becomes a step and a screenshot.

Who should approve an SOP?

The person who owns the process and, for safety, legal, financial or compliance work, a qualified reviewer. The tool only drafts the text.

Compare more options in our Productivity category. To track the work an SOP supports, see How to manage projects and tasks with AI.