Creating and Using AI-Generated Smart Notes

Some of the functionality described in this article is available as part of our Fiano release and will not be available if your Practifi instance is not upgraded to this release. 

Overview

AI-generated content blocks let you create dynamic, intelligent content in Smart Notes that pulls personalized information from sources such as Practifi records, corporate filings, and news, so your team can focus on client work rather than gathering data across multiple sources. Practifi Administrators can configure how the AI generates content for Smart Notes by writing clear instructions, selecting information sources, and validating results before deployment. 

This article guides you through the process of creating AI-generated content blocks, from crafting effective prompts and choosing information sources to testing your configuration.

Please note: AI-powered Smart Notes are a part of our Practifi Intelligence add-on. To request access to this feature, please reach out to your Client Success Manager or Practifi contact. Enabling AI in Smart Notes requires signing additional data processing agreements as part of our partnership with the AI provider.

• Creating an AI-Generated Content Block
  • Using the AI Content Tab
• Pre-Built Templates and Content Blocks
  • Relationship Brief
  • Meeting Brief
  • Cloning a Pre-Built Template or Content Block
• Adding an AI-Generated Content Block to a Template
• Adding an AI-Generated Content Block to a Smart Note

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Creating an AI-Generated Content Block

Practifi Administrators can create content blocks on the Smart Notes page in the Settings app. To create an AI-generated content block:

1. Click the App Launcher in the upper-left corner of the Practifi screen, then select Settings.

   

2. In the Settings app, click the caret next to the Navigation menu, scroll down, and select Smart Notes.

   

3. On the Smart Notes page, select the Content Blocks tab on the left-hand side of the screen.

4. From the Content Blocks tab, click the New button at the top of the content block list.

   

5. In the New Content Block window, select the AI-Generated option, then click Next. 

   

6. Enter the following information on the Basic Details tab:
   • Name: This name is displayed in the Add Content Block window that launches from the Template Editor or Smart Note Editor. This field has an 80-character limit.
   • Description: Enter a detailed explanation of the content block. This appears in the Add Content Block window when a user selects the content block.

   • Status: Defaults to Draft. This can be changed to Published or Archived.

     

7. Optionally, click the Division Access tab to control which divisions in your organization can access the content block. If the content block has no divisions assigned, then all users can access it. Drag and drop one or more divisions from the Available area to the Selected area to restrict access.

   

8. Click the AI Content tab to configure the AI model's input.

   

Using the AI Content Tab

The AI Content tab is where you configure how the AI model generates the text that appears in the content block. This tab has three sections:

• Configure Your Inputs
• Control Response Behavior
• Validate AI Output

Configure Your Inputs

First, tell the AI what you want it to generate and where to retrieve data from.

Prompt
Write clear instructions that specify the type of content the AI model should generate. The prompt should be specific and detailed to ensure the AI generates relevant and useful content for your Smart Notes. For additional recommendations on prompting, see our Understanding AI-Generated Smart Notes article.

Information Sources  
Choose which external information sources the AI should reference when generating content. You can select from various news outlets and other external information services that are relevant to your content block's purpose. To pull client information from Practifi, check the CRM Data box.

The following sources are available:

• CRM Data
• Business & Financial News
• General News
• Industry News
• Regional News

For some sources, you can click the caret to drill down and select specific subsections.

Control Response Behavior

These settings allow you to calibrate how the AI model processes the prompt. Adjusting the Reasoning Effort and Verbosity to Low or Minimal can reduce processing time.

Reasoning Effort

The amount of thinking the AI does when generating its response. The higher the effort, the longer it takes to generate, so choose the lowest level of effort that still delivers the quality you need. More straightforward prompts (e.g., "List the client's assets") require less reasoning and might work well when set to Minimal.

Verbosity

The length of the AI's response. Responses vary in length depending on how much information they incorporate, so this setting is about defining a general tendency rather than imposing strict limits. You can set stricter limits in the prompt itself, if required.

Validate AI Output

To test your AI configuration, search for and select an entity from the Entity lookup field, then click the Submit button. 

Please note: Depending on the prompt's complexity and the number of records being analyzed, it may take several minutes for the content to populate. 

The Thought Process section explains the model's reasoning for generating content in response to the provided prompt. Understanding how the AI processed the request can help you refine your prompt and build confidence in the output before it reaches your team.

The AI also generates sample content based on your prompt, selected information sources, and the chosen entity's data, allowing you to verify that the content block produces the expected results.

When you're happy with the output, click Save to save your content block.

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Pre-Built Templates and Content Blocks

We've created two Smart Note templates consisting of several AI-generated content blocks. You can use these as-is or duplicate and customize them to suit your firm's needs.  

Relationship Brief

This comprehensive snapshot brings together key details, such as contact information, relationships, assets, and recent activities, into a single document, perfect for getting up to speed quickly. 

The Relationship Brief template is made up of the following content blocks:

Content Block	Description
Overview	A comprehensive overview including key relationship information (AUM, client segment), servicing team members, and conversational descriptions of all household or organization members with their ages, relationships, employment details, and anticipated retirement dates.
Noticeboard	Important alerts about the relationship, ordered by alert level and date.
Contact Information	All addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses for the entity and its members, with an optional introductory statement about preferred contact methods.
Related Parties	Client entities (trusts, foundations, legal entities with financial stake), referrals, and other external relationships (service providers, family connections) associated with the entity.
Assets	A table displaying all assets with their category, stage, custodian, account number, and value.
Services	A table displaying all services with their stage, AUM, start date, and description.
Deals	A table displaying all deals with their stage, AUM, close date, and description.
Processes & Tasks	Work items, including complex processes and individual tasks, are organized by open work and historical work, with tasks nested under their parent processes.
Recent Activities	A unified chronological timeline of events, calls, and emails showing client engagement progression. Prioritizes rich content from Smart Notes and Notes over system-generated data, intelligently omits non-qualitative meeting details, and extracts only the latest message from email chains to create a clean, scannable communication history.

Meeting Brief

Prepare for client meetings efficiently with synthesized relationship information and ready-to-use talking points. This template helps advisors enter conversations fully informed without spending hours reviewing records. 

The Meeting Brief template is made up of the following content blocks:

Content Block	Description
Goals & Objectives	What does this client want to achieve? This content block extracts explicitly stated goals, objectives, and concerns from meeting notes and other CRM records. The output is a scannable, factual list that lets advisors quickly understand what the client has articulated they're working toward.
Values & Motivations	Why do they want what they want? This content block synthesizes the underlying drivers, life context, and emotional landscape behind client goals. It connects scattered details from conversations to reveal patterns about what truly matters to them, including family legacy concerns, career transitions that shape financial decisions, and life experiences that drive current priorities.
People & Relationships	Who's in this client's world? This content block assembles a structured view of the client's household composition, family members, related entities, and professional relationships. It provides estate-planning context by showing ages, relationships, and key details about people and entities relevant to the client's financial life. This gives advisors a quick reference to family structure, trust arrangements, and professional advisors, without having to hunt through scattered records.
Recent Conversations	What's been happening with this client? This content block summarizes the last 90 days of documented client interactions, including meetings, calls, emails, and substantive conversations. It creates continuity across conversations by showing advisors what's been discussed recently, what decisions were made, and which topics are currently in play. This prevents advisors from asking about things just discussed and helps identify threads to pick up in the next conversation.
Portfolio Performance	How are the client's accounts performing? This content block provides current account values and recent performance metrics at a glance. It gives advisors the numbers they need to discuss portfolio performance or address concerns about market movements.
Conversation Starters	What personal topics should the advisor be prepared to discuss? This content block identifies 3-7 conversation starters that help build rapport and demonstrate personal attentiveness. It surfaces timely news about client interests (sports teams, hobbies), acknowledges important life situations (health concerns, caregiving), highlights celebrations and milestones (birthdays, promotions, and graduations), and suggests family follow-ups from previous conversations. By connecting personal interests to current news when possible, the block creates engaging, timely conversations rather than generic questions. This helps advisors open meetings warmly, show they remember what matters to clients beyond finances, and build stronger relationships.
Market-Driven Talking Points	Substantive discussion items connecting recent market developments and industry news to the client's portfolio positioning and career situation. Helps advisors demonstrate expertise and frame strategic conversations around timely opportunities and risks.
Life Events & Planning Discussion	Upcoming life transitions and milestones that create planning conversations. Frames each event as an actionable discussion point, helping advisors proactively address retirement transitions, education funding, career changes, major purchases, and family milestones requiring financial preparation.

Cloning a Pre-Built Template or Content Block

You can repurpose a prebuilt template or content block by cloning it and making changes. To clone a template or content block from the Smart Notes page in the Settings app, select it and click the Clone button.

A success message appears, and the cloned template or content block is displayed at the top of the list with "Copy" appended to its name. The cloned template or content block will have a Draft status by default. Select it and click the Edit button to give it a new name.

In the edit window, click the Edit Content button to make changes in the Template Editor or Content Block Editor.

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Adding an AI-Generated Content Block to a Template

To add an AI-generated content block to a Smart Note template:

1. From the Templates tab on the Smart Notes page, click the New button at the top of the template list.
   
   
    
2. In the New Template window, enter the following information on the Basic Details tab:
   • Template Name: This name is displayed in the Create Smart Note window when a user creates a Smart Note from a template. This field has an 80-character limit.
   • Description: Enter a detailed explanation of the template's purpose. This appears in the preview when a user clicks on the template name in the Create Smart Note window.

   • Status: Defaults to Draft. This can be changed to Published or Archived.

     

3. Optionally, click the Division Access tab to control which divisions in your organization can access the template. If the template has no divisions assigned, then all users can access it. Drag and drop one or more divisions from the Available area to the Selected area to restrict access.
    

   

4. Click Save & Edit Content to create the template and open the Template Editor.

5. In the Template Editor, click <ENTER> in the editing area and click + Add Content Block.

   

6. In the Add Content Block window, click the name of the AI-generated content block, then click Add Content Block.

   

7. The name and description of the content block appear in the Template Editor. Repeat steps 5-6 for as many content blocks as you want to add to the template.

8. When you're done, click Save to save your work.

   

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Adding an AI-Generated Content Block to a Smart Note

Users can also add AI-generated content blocks directly to Smart Notes, bringing AI-assisted context into notes as they're being written. Smart Notes can be created from Entity, Event, Task, and Call records. To add an AI-generated content block from the Smart Note Editor:

1. Click the New button or + icon from the Smart Notes section of a Client record, Event record, Task record, Call record, or the Smart Notes page. The Create Smart Note window opens. For calls, Smart Notes can be automatically created from call descriptions when this feature is enabled in Smart Notes settings.
2. If you're creating the Smart Note from the global Smart Notes page, use the search bar to search for and select the entity you want to associate the note with.

3. Select Start from Scratch, then click Save & Open Editor to open the Smart Note Editor.

   

4. You can add a content block from the Smart Note Editor when starting a new line of text. When you start a new line with <ENTER> or click into a new line with your cursor, you'll see an Add Content Block pop-up. 

5. Click + Add Content Block to open the Add Content Block window.

   

6. In the Add Content Block window, you'll see a searchable list of content blocks in your organization. Select a content block to view a description and the AI prompt for the content block. 

7. Click Add Content Block to insert it into the body of the Smart Note.
    

   

8. A status message indicates that the content is being generated.

   

   Please note: If an error message appears, click the Retry link to attempt to reload the content.

9. You can repeat steps 5-7 as many times as needed to add content blocks to the Smart Note.

10. After the content loads, enter a title and click Save to save your changes.

    

Please note: AI content blocks are generated based on data available in your Practifi instance at the time of creation. If client data changes, you may need to regenerate content blocks to reflect the most current information.