AI Template Builder
The AI Template Builder turns a document you already use, such as a paper inspection form, a Word checklist or an Excel sheet, into a survey template. You upload the document, the AI reads it and proposes a template, and you refine it by chatting. When you're happy, you save it as a Draft, review it and publish it.
Use Cases
- Digitise a paper form — photograph the pages, or upload the PDF, and get a template with sections and fields
- Move a checklist into the app — upload an Excel or Word checklist and get a template with the repeating items already set up
- Start fast, then fine-tune — let the AI build the first version, then change fields, groups and wording in plain English
Key Concepts
| Concept | Description |
|---|---|
| Session | One run of the builder: your uploaded files, the chat and the template draft. If you leave, you can pick it up again later |
| Preview | The template the AI has built so far, shown beside the chat. It updates as you ask for changes |
| Draft | A saved template that isn't live yet. You can keep editing it. See Template Versioning |
| AI Assistant | A panel on an existing template where you ask the AI to review it or change it. You approve each change |
Starting the Builder
- Go to Services → Survey Templates.
- Click Generate with AI.
The first time you open the builder, a dialog titled Before you use the AI Template Builder appears. It explains that AI-generated templates are a starting point, that you are responsible for reviewing and approving a template before users get it, and that you'll be asked to confirm this at publish time. Click I understand — continue to go on, or Back to templates to leave. The dialog comes back if its wording changes.
If you left an earlier session unfinished, a Resume Previous Session? dialog shows when it was last updated, how many files it holds and whether a template draft exists. Choose Continue Session to carry on, or Start Fresh to clear it and begin again.
Uploading a Document
Drop files onto the upload area or click it to browse. You can add several files at once.
| File type | Extensions | Size limit |
|---|---|---|
.pdf | 5 MB | |
| Word | .docx, .doc | 10 MB |
| Excel | .xlsx | 20 MB |
| Photo of a form | .jpg, .jpeg, .png, .webp, .heic | 8 MB each |
You can upload up to 10 photos per template. The AI treats photos as the ordered pages of one form, so use the up and down arrows beside each file to put them in page order. A file that's too large, of another type, or over the photo limit is rejected with a message saying why.
Click Analyze Documents to start. Long PDFs are read in sections, and the chat shows progress while it works.
Refining the Template in Chat
Once the AI has proposed a template, the Preview panel shows its groups and fields. Select a field or group in the preview to see its settings.
Type requests in the box that reads Ask the AI to modify the template.... For example:
- "Add a brake light inspection"
- "Remove the exhaust check"
- "Group the electrical items together"
- "Make the comment required when an item fails"
On a phone, the builder has two tabs, Chat and Preview. It switches to Preview the first time a template appears.
For what each field type and setting does, see Survey Templates.
What the Builder Sets Up for You
The AI works out the structure from your document and applies several things for you. Check each one in the preview, as you would any other part of the draft.
- Repeating check items — when a document has the same questions repeated down a list, the AI creates a reusable field pattern and a list of check items. See Check Items.
- Comment required on failure — when a check item has a pass/fail result and a comment, the builder makes the comment required when the result is a failing one such as Not Acceptable. It leaves a rule you've already set alone. See Requiring a Comment on Failed Items.
- Conditional summaries — for groups with several pass/fail or Yes/No fields, the AI can add a summary field that lists the items that failed. See Generating a Conditional Summary.
- Finding triggers — if you ask for them, the AI can set a check item or field to raise a finding automatically when a survey is completed. It doesn't add them by default. See Configuring Finding Triggers.
- Clean-up — the builder tidies field names, for example removing a trailing colon, and fills in the short voice prompts the voice assistant speaks.
- Gap repair — if a section of your document comes out as an empty group, the builder refills it from the document.
Saving the Template
When the preview looks right, click Save Template under the preview. The template is saved as a Draft. A Template saved message appears with an Open in Template Builder link that opens the template for further editing.
If you leave the page with an unsaved template, an Unsaved Template dialog offers Save & Leave, Discard or Cancel.
Publishing
A Draft is not available for new surveys until you publish it.
- Open the Draft from Services → Survey Templates.
- Check the fields, groups and settings. Run a test survey if you can.
- Click Publish. In the approval dialog, tick the confirmation and click Publish.
The approval dialog is described in Template Versioning. Publishing locks the template structure. To change a Published template later, create a new version.
Editing an Existing Template with the AI Assistant
You can also use the AI on a template you already have. Open the template and click AI Assistant at the top of the page. If you have used it before on this template, the button reads Continue with AI Assistant. On a narrow screen it's in the More actions menu.
The assistant opens as a panel. Its input box reads Ask the assistant....
- Click Review my template for a checklist of things to improve.
- Describe a change, such as adding a field, renaming a group or changing voice settings.
- Each proposed change appears as a card that shows what will change. Click Apply to accept it or Reject to drop it.
- Where the review finds something fixable, click Fix this, or Apply all safe fixes to clear them in one go.
- Click Start over to clear the conversation and the stored review.
If you edit the template after a review, the panel warns that the template has changed since the review.
Tips
- Upload the cleanest copy of your form you have. A clear PDF or Word file gives better results than a dim photo.
- For a multi-page paper form, upload the photos in page order.
- Ask for one kind of change at a time, then check the preview.
- Treat the first result as a draft. Look at the field types, options and groups against how your team really works.
- Test the Draft on a real or sample survey before you publish.
Troubleshooting
| Problem | What to try |
|---|---|
| A file is rejected on upload | Check the type and the size limit in the table above |
| "Maximum 10 photos per template" | Remove some photos, or upload the form as a PDF instead |
| Fields are missing or wrong | Ask the AI to add or correct them in chat, or edit the Draft by hand |
| The chat shows an error | Send your request again |
| You left the page | Open Generate with AI again and choose Continue Session |