Skip to main content
Most work in Vera Engage can be set up more than one way. There isn’t an always-right or always-wrong choice. Two teams with the same task can choose different tools and both be right. What works best depends on who is doing the work, how often it comes up, and what you want the end result to be. You can also change tools as your team gets more comfortable, and that’s fine.

​
Where to start

Start with the foundation and build up. Each level builds on the ones below it.

​
The tools at a glance

Memories

Things Vera Engage should always know about you, like your company and role.Where: Library > Memories. Who: Only you.

Saved Files

Documents you’ve attached in chat, saved so Vera Engage can work from them again.Where: Chat attachments. Who: Shareable.

Repository

Your contract documents from Icertis, SharePoint, or direct upload.Where: Repository. Who: Everyone; what each person sees follows the access permissions in the source system.

Clause Library

Your approved clause language, ready to drop into a draft or redline.Where: Library > Clauses. Who: Shareable.

Prompt Library

Requests you make often, saved so you don’t have to retype them.Where: Library > Prompts. Who: Shareable.

Skills

Your team’s way of doing a task. Vera Engage uses it when it sees that task.Where: Library > Skills. Who: Shareable.

Workspaces

A home for a project, with its files, chats, outputs, and the people working on it.Where: Workspaces. Who: Shareable.

Playbooks

Your negotiation positions set up as rules for a contract type. Built in a workspace.Where: Playbooks. Who: Shareable, versioned.

Flows

Multi-step contract work your team does the same way every time.Where: Web app > Flows. Who: Shareable, versioned.

​
Each tool in detail

What it is: Facts Vera Engage remembers and uses in every chat, so you don’t have to keep repeating them.Use it when:
  • You find yourself giving the same background at the start of every chat.
  • It’s true for all of your work, like your company, your role, or which side you usually represent. For example, “I always represent [Company] as the vendor.”
Use something else when:
  • The whole team needs it. Memories can’t be shared, so put team guidance in workspace instructions or a shared skill.
  • It only applies to one deal. Just tell Vera Engage in the chat.
Who usually builds it: Each user, for themselves. It takes a sentence or two.Who can use it: Only you.Where to find it: Library > Memories, or Memory in the Word add-in menu.
What it is: A home for the contract documents Vera Engage works from. It can connect to Icertis or SharePoint, or you can upload documents to it directly, so you don’t have to attach them to each chat.Use it when:
  • You need to work with contracts your team has already signed.
  • You want answers based on your contract history, not just one document.
  • Your documents already live in Icertis or SharePoint and you don’t want to attach copies.
Use something else when:
  • It’s a one-off draft you only need in one conversation. Attach it to the chat.
  • You need approved clause language to insert. Use the clause library.
Who can use it: Everyone. What each person can see is limited by the role-based access control inherited from the source system.See Repository for details.
What it is: One place for your approved clause language. You can insert clauses straight from the chat while you redline.Use it when:
  • Your team has standard or fallback language that needs to be used as written.
  • People are drafting the same clause in different ways today.
  • You want Vera Engage to use your language instead of writing its own.
Use something else when:
  • You need rules about when to accept, push back, or fall back. That’s a playbook.
  • The language changes from deal to deal.
Who usually builds it: Knowledge managers, using language legal has already approved. Anyone can also save clauses just for themselves.Who can use it: Anyone you share it with. Viewers can use clauses and editors can change them. Org owners can share with a whole team.Where to find it: Library > Clauses, or Clauses in the Word add-in menu.
What it is: When you pick a prompt, it fills in the chat box and you can edit it before you send. Vera Engage includes prompts for summarizing, drafting, redlining, and learning.Use it when:
  • People are typing the same request over and over.
  • A good request always includes the same things, like which party you represent, how much detail you want, and the format.
  • You want new users to start from a request that already works well.
Use something else when:
  • You want Vera Engage to do it without being asked. That’s a skill.
  • The work involves a lot of steps or documents. Look at a workspace or a flow.
Who usually builds it: Anyone. Click the bookmark icon in chat to save a prompt.Who can use it: Anyone you share it with. Org owners can share with a whole team.Where to find it: Library > Prompts, or Prompts in the Word add-in menu.
What it is: Instructions Vera Engage follows for a type of task. You can type the skill name, or just describe what you need and Vera Engage will pick the skill. Vera Engage includes skills like Summarize, Gap Analysis, Clean Up, and Run Playbook.Use it when:
  • Your team has its own way of doing something and wants it done that way every time.
  • The task takes judgment and is more than a fill-in-the-blank request.
  • You want it available inside a workspace.
Use something else when:
  • A saved request would do the job. A prompt is quicker to set up.
  • You’re saving clause language. Use the clause library.
Who usually builds it: Knowledge managers. Ask Vera Engage to draft the skill, then test it.Who can use it: Anyone you share it with. You can also add skills to a workspace. Org owners can share with a whole team.Where to find it: Library > Skills.
A prompt is a request you pick and fill in. A skill is a way of doing a task that Vera Engage uses on its own, so you don’t have to remember it’s there. Check the included skills first, because your need may already be covered.
What it is: A workspace holds the files Vera Engage reads, standing instructions, your chats, saved outputs, skills, and the people you share it with. Playbooks are built in workspaces too.Use it when:
  • The work goes on for a while, like diligence, repapering, or a template refresh.
  • Several people are working from the same materials.
  • You want to compare a lot of documents side by side in a table (Tabular Review).
Use something else when:
  • It’s a quick question about one document. Just use chat.
  • The same steps happen on every new request. Look at a flow.
Who usually builds it: A project owner or knowledge manager, in the web app (Chat > New Workspace). Add your files and instructions, then share it.Who can use it: Only you until you share it. Editors can change the materials and viewers can run and ask questions. Org owners can share with a whole team.Where to find it: Workspaces.
What it is: Each issue becomes a rule with your preferred position, fallbacks, and the reasoning behind it. You build playbooks in a workspace and run them from the Word add-in by typing “run playbook.”Use it when:
  • You see the contract type a lot and reviewers don’t have much discretion.
  • You want to hand review to non-legal teams, or automate negotiation rounds.
  • You have materials to build from, like a negotiation guide, past redlines, or your standard form.
Use something else when:
  • A lawyer will review every redline anyway. Chat with your standard form or a review skill will be faster.
  • You don’t see the contract type often enough to make the build and testing worth it.
Who usually builds it: Your subject matter experts, with Vera Engage doing the drafting. Gather materials, build, then test. Plan on 4 to 50+ hours of testing, depending on complexity.Who can use it: Anyone you share the workspace with, once a publisher publishes it. Viewers can run it and editors can change the rules. Changes are version-controlled. Org owners can share with a whole team.Where to find it: Playbooks (look for the playbook tag in Workspaces). Run it from the Word add-in.
What it is: A set of steps you build and run from the web app, so the process is the same no matter who runs it.Use it when:
  • The same steps happen in the same order on every request.
  • It matters more that everyone does it the same way than that it’s flexible.
  • There are hand-offs today that could run as one process.
Use something else when:
  • The steps change every time. Use a workspace or chat.
  • It’s really just one step. A prompt or skill is simpler.
Who usually builds it: Knowledge managers, with champions helping test. Map out the steps and test until it works the way you want.Who can use it: Anyone you share it with. Publishers can publish a version of a flow to the teams where they’re a Publisher. Owners and Editors run the latest saved version; everyone else runs the published version.Where to find it: Web app > Flows.See Flows for how to create, edit, run, and publish a flow.
Before you build a flow, write the process down as a numbered list of steps.

​
How much set-up each tool takes

When more than one tool would work, start with the simpler one.

​
Six things that shape your choice

Variability: The middle ground matters. When the work changes in ways you can predict — like different steps or positions for different deal types — you can write the rules down. Flows, skills, workspaces, and playbooks can apply them.
Frequency: A one-time project, like diligence, repapering, or a template refresh, is still worth a workspace. It keeps the files, instructions, chats, and people in one place while the project runs, with nothing to build or test first.
Complexity: A long process with simple steps can still be a good fit for a flow.

​
Example: four ways to redline a contract

All four work. Which one is best depends on the team and what it’s trying to do. Legal teams use playbooks too, when they want to automate negotiation rounds.

​
Tools people often mix up

Either answer can be right, depending on the team.

​
Tips

  1. Start simple. If a prompt does the job, you don’t need a skill. If a skill does the job, you don’t need a playbook. You can always build more later.
  2. Share what you build. Clauses, prompts, skills, workspaces, playbooks, and flows can all be shared. Memories are the exception — each person saves their own. See Share and publish your work.
  3. Give everything an owner. Each shared item needs someone to keep it up to date. Be careful deleting, because a deleted shared item is gone for everyone.