Why Preplo for Writing runbooks

Preplo is an AI tool designed to extract structured instructions from video content. While originally built for recipe extraction, it can process incident response videos and generate step-by-step written procedures suitable for runbook documentation.

Key strengths

Automated documentation: Processes video content and generates written instructions, reducing manual transcription and formatting work.
Consistency: Applies a standard procedural format across extractions, useful for maintaining uniform runbook structure.
Time-saving: Cuts initial documentation effort, letting teams focus on validation and customization.
Multi-platform support: Handles various video sources.

A realistic example

A team records a video walkthrough of their database failover procedure. They upload it to Preplo, which generates a numbered, step-by-step guide. The output becomes the foundation for their runbook — no manual transcription needed. They then review, add alert thresholds and rollback steps, and push it to their incident response wiki.

Pricing and access

Preplo offers a free plan with limited monthly extractions and premium plans starting at $3.33/month for unlimited extractions. Check the Preplo website for current details.

Alternatives worth considering

Trello or Asana: Project management tools for procedure documentation, but require more manual effort.
Confluence or Notion: Documentation platforms with robust formatting, though less automated for video-to-runbook conversion.
Scribbler or Otter.ai: Transcription tools that convert video to text but don't structure output as procedural steps.

TL;DR

Use Preplo when you have existing incident response videos and want to automate runbook generation. Skip it if your procedures need heavy customization or specific formatting Preplo's extraction doesn't support.