How to Build SOPs with AI From a Screen Recording

What is the easiest way to create an SOP?

SOPs are standard operating procedures. They are valuable, but if creating and maintaining them is hard, they will not get written or kept up to date. The easier way is to record yourself doing the task. It sounds simple because it is, and it is the most important step.

The idea comes from engineering study, where documenting a process as you carry it out makes the written report far easier. Writing it up becomes a case of describing what you see in the video rather than trying to remember everything from scratch. The same principle works for agency tasks.

How do you record a task for an SOP?

Use a screen recording tool such as Loom, Zoom or OBS. Loom has a free plan and a transcript feature. In the example, we recorded how to upload a video to YouTube Studio: open the content tab, choose create, upload, select the file, add the title, reuse details from a previous video, set the audience and add the thumbnail.

Speak out loud as you work and explain your thought process. This matters most for complicated tasks, such as setting up a campaign in Facebook Ads Manager, writing a cold email or creating content in Canva. Your explanation helps the viewer understand why you do each step, and it gives the AI the information it needs later.

Why should you record the task more than once?

Ideally, repeat the recording two more times, on two separate occasions and with different material. Unless the task is very basic, there will be variations. In the YouTube example, a thumbnail might be over two megabytes and need shrinking, or the title might not exist in the content system yet, so you need a step to find it. For a Facebook campaign, a connection might fail and need a workaround. Showing these cases gives a complete picture.

What are the four parts of an SOP?

Three recordings could be enough on their own. Add them to a Google Doc and anyone could follow them. To go a step further, use the 4C method.

• Camcorder: the video recordings of the task.
• Course: a bullet list of the steps needed to complete the task. You can keep it high level, such as check the report, send the report and update the project tool. We prefer more detail so that it is very clear, for example go to Creator Studio, then upload a video.
• Cadence: how often the task happens, such as every time a client is onboarded, once a month or when required. In the YouTube example, it was whenever a video is ready to upload.
• Checklist: the non negotiable items that must be complete before the task counts as done, much like a pilot's pre flight checklist. If one item is unticked, the task is not complete.

How do you use AI to write the SOP?

We built a GPT, an assistant that takes a transcript and creates the SOP automatically. Use the free template for this guide if it is available, or create your own assistant. The process is short.

1. Copy the transcript from your recording. In Loom, open the transcript tab and copy it.
2. Paste the transcript into the GPT. It is designed to ask questions if it needs more information.
3. The GPT creates a step by step procedure, a cadence and a checklist. We set it to add as much detail as possible.
4. Copy the result into a Google Doc, though any document tool works.
5. Add links to your recordings, for example recording one, two and three.

How good is an AI generated SOP?

Do not expect it to be perfect. Read through it and you will probably find a couple of things that are not quite right. But it is far better than starting from nothing. Use it as a rough guide and polish it with the correct instructions.

Remember that the AI works only from the transcript and cannot see the screen. That is why describing what you are doing as you record is so important. The whole SOP, including the recording, took about five minutes to create.

You could build this into an automation, but it is rarely needed. Consider how often you will actually create SOPs. Not everything that can be automated has to be.

How do you keep SOPs useful over time?

Share the SOP with your team and collect feedback straight away. SOPs are not static. Your employees use them more than you do, so let them request changes easily. If they spot a checklist item that is not needed, or a step that needs adding for clarity, listen to them.

An out of date SOP is as useless as no SOP, because nobody uses it. Update it regularly. Start recording early too: if you plan to hire for a task in a couple of months, begin recording now, so the SOPs are ready when the new hire arrives. Encourage your team leaders to create SOPs for what they do every day. The video above walks through the full process.