AI Guidance
Guidance blocks are named sets of instructions that tell the AI assistant how to handle specific tasks for this matter type. Where the knowledge base gives the assistant background know-how, guidance blocks give it a playbook for a particular job — how to report a filing, how to word a deadline reminder, what to include when recommending the next step. A fee-earner then calls one up in the AI assistant chat and the assistant follows it.
The guidance list
Each row is a guidance block, shown with its Name and a short Preview of its content. Click a block to edit it, or + Add Guidance to create one. Give each block a clear, task-oriented name — for example "Report Written Opinion" or "National Phase Deadline Reminder" — because that name is how it is referenced.
How guidance is used
In the AI assistant chat on a matter, a fee-earner mentions a block by typing @Name. The assistant then includes that block's instructions in its context and follows them when drafting. This lets you standardise recurring tasks: everyone reporting a written opinion gets a consistently structured letter because they all invoke the same guidance block, rather than each person prompting the AI from scratch.
Writing a guidance block
In the editor, give the block a Name (unique within the matter type) and write its Instructions. You can use markdown for structure, and you may embed field tokens such as ${field.Article 34 Deadline}, which resolve to the matter's actual values when the guidance is used. Write the instructions as you would brief a colleague: describe the task, what to include, the tone to strike, and anything to avoid. Save when done.
A worked example
Here is a real guidance block, Report ITS Guidance, written for a Provisional matter type. It briefs the assistant to analyse an international-type search report and the specification as filed, draft a client email using the Report ITS template, and cross-reference the novel and inventive claims — while explicitly telling it not to create tasks or take other actions.
A fee-earner then invokes it from the matter's AI assistant by typing @Report ITS Guidance. The assistant follows the playbook — using the named template's subject line and style, keeping the requested tone, and pulling in the key search findings — and returns a ready-to-review email draft.
Notice how the assistant summarises what it did — which template it used, the format it chose, and the findings it included — so you can check its work at a glance before sending or passing the draft to Approvals.
Tip