Document Templates

Document Templates let you create “fill-in-the-blanks” documents with placeholders like [Executive Summary], [Action Items], [Company Name]. An AI Assistant generates the content for each variable when the template is run.

What They Are

A template is a source document (Google Docs/Slides or Word/PowerPoint) containing placeholders in square brackets. When run, Decoder replaces each variable with AI-generated content or values from the workflow.

Creating Templates

1. Go to Document Templates (or Templates) and click New
2. Basic info:
   • Name and Description (required)
   • Document Type – Google Docs, Google Slides, Microsoft Word, or PowerPoint
   • Assistant – AI Assistant used to generate variable content
3. Document source:
   • Google Docs/Slides: Click Select Google Drive File and pick a file (Google Drive integration required)
   • Word/PowerPoint: Upload a .docx or .pptx file
4. Variables are auto-extracted from the document (looks for [Variable Name] patterns)
5. For each variable, set an Assistant Prompt – the instruction for what content to generate
6. Add, remove, or reorder variables as needed
7. Click Save

Variable Format

• Use square brackets: [Variable Name]
• Match the exact text in the document (case-sensitive)
• Example: [Company Name], [Meeting Date], [Action Items]

Assistant Prompts

Each variable has a prompt that tells the Assistant what to generate. Best practice: prompts should be specific. Example prompts:

• “Extract the main discussion points from the transcript”
• “Create a professional executive summary based on the meeting transcript”
• “List all action items mentioned in the transcript with owners”

Context available: document name/description, company name, transcript, executive summary, and previous variable responses (for later variables).

Using in Automations

Use the Process Document Template action:

1. Add the step in the Build tab
2. Required inputs:
   • Template – Select your template
   • Filename – Name for the output (supports variables)
   • Company Name – Company name (supports variables)
3. Optional inputs:
   • Transcript – Meeting transcript text
   • Executive Summary – Summary text
   • Custom variable mappings – Override specific variables with workflow values

Output: Google Docs/Slides produce a live document URL; Word/PowerPoint produce a downloadable file.

Common Use Cases

• Meeting summaries – Variables: meeting date, attendees, discussion points, action items
• Proposals and quotes – Variables: company name, proposal date, solution overview, pricing
• Reports – Variables: report period, key metrics, trends, recommendations

Troubleshooting

• Variables not extracted — Ensure exact [Variable Name] format
• Variables not replacing — Ensure names match exactly (case-sensitive)
• Google Drive errors — Connect/reconnect Drive
• Content quality issues — Refine prompts and ensure the right Assistant/context