Creating AI-driven Document Templates in SharePoint
Savvy prides itself in creating unique solutions tailored to each organization’s individual needs. However, there can be challenges with drafting contracts when each one may include multiple services and unique payment arrangements. Even with an established process, drafting each agreement can feel time consuming when every contract requires a slightly different combination of services and terms.
Structured document generation to the rescue!
What is Structured Document Generation?
Structured document generation combines several platform features into a single process for dynamically creating template-based Word documents. This includes using Word fields, SharePoint document forms, and AI field detection. As a result, users can complete a SharePoint form with key details, and the system generates a new document from your defined template, while incorporating the information they provide.
This process is especially useful for business documents that follow a standard structure but require variable details, such as contracts, invoices, proposals, onboarding documents, and client-facing reports.
Note that to create a structured document template, you must have a Microsoft 365 Copilot license. You do not have to have a Copilot license to use the template. Also, this functionality is only available for Word documents at the moment.
Setting Up Your Template
To get started, you will navigate to the SharePoint library where you want to make your template available. Choose Forms in the toolbar.
You can browse to a Word document in OneDrive, SharePoint, or you can upload a template from your desktop. SharePoint will use AI to detect which fields in the document might be candidates for fillable fields.
To adjust these fields, click on the “Open template in Word” button. This will pop open a tool pane next to your Word document, providing a list of the fields it thinks you may want to use.
You can choose to delete fields, create new fields, or edit the fields provided. When editing a field, you can rename the field, provide an optional description, and decide if the field is required. You can also choose the field type.
These fields can then be inserted or used in the Word document as Word fields.
When you are done, you can choose to publish your template. This will return you to the SharePoint form. The first time you publish the SharePoint document form, you be asked to name a folder where the created documents will reside.
From here, you can edit the SharePoint document form, as you would with any other SharePoint form.
Using the Form to Create a Template
Once you have published the form, any user with access to the form and the destination library and folder can fill out the form and submit it.
The user will see a new document appear in the target library. Upon opening the document, the user will see the appropriate Word fields filled in with their appropriate values.
A tool pane that opens beside the document will indicate all the field values that were used to generate the document. Changing the field values in the form will automatically update the Word field values in the associated document.
Using Conditional Sections
There are times when you want to show or hide document values based on conditional logic. For example, in our scenario, we would like the document creator to specify the payment terms in the document creation form, and have only that payment terms appear in the contract.
First, in the template, we will create a new field called Payment Terms. The field will have a type of Choice, where users can choose Prepaid Hours, Time and Materials, or Ad Hoc.
Next, we will create three Conditional Sections. For each section, we highlight the text in the document that we would like to appear for that selected payment type.
This way, when the document creator selects a Payment Type choice, only the Word field associated with that payment type will appear in the final document.
Conclusion
Structured document generation helps organizations create consistent, accurate documents without rebuilding the same type of file each time. By combining SharePoint forms, Word templates, and AI-assisted field detection, teams can streamline document creation while reducing confusion, manual effort, and the risk of errors.