Can you license your company’s SOPs and playbooks to AI companies?
This guide is for owners and operations leads who have a body of written procedures and wonder whether it has any value beyond the business. The short answer is sometimes. It depends on whether the documents are real, used, specific to you, yours to license and free of personal and client information.
Can you license SOPs and playbooks to AI companies?
Sometimes. AI data programmes look for procedures that describe how real work gets done in a specific firm, that people actually follow, that you own, and that contain no personal or client information. Generic templates and out-of-date manuals rarely qualify. Whether yours do is a case-by-case judgement.
Nobody can promise that a given set of documents will attract an offer, and we can’t tell you what yours would be worth. Programmes make their own decisions on eligibility, scope and terms. What you can do is check your material against the questions they are likely to ask. Our guide to what data AI labs buy sets out the wider picture, and how AI data programmes work explains the process.
What makes an SOP or playbook licensable?
Five things matter most: it is written down and actually used, it is specific to how your firm works, you own it outright, personal and client details can be removed, and there is evidence of it being followed. The more of those you can show, the stronger the case.
The evidence point is the one people miss. A procedure on its own is text. A procedure alongside tickets, checklists or case records that follow it shows the work really happens that way. That link between instruction and outcome is what makes operational material different from a page of advice. If your records are the strong part, the ticket history and runbooks guide goes deeper.
How licensable are your SOPs? A scorecard
Answer yes or no to each of the eight checks below. Mostly yes means the material is worth putting forward for a review. A few no answers usually point to a fixable gap. Many no answers mean it is probably not ready, or not suitable, today.
Licensability scorecard
- Is it written down, and do people actually use it in their day-to-day work?
- Is it specific to how your firm works, rather than a generic template?
- Do you own it, with no third-party or client content inside?
- Can personal and client details be removed without breaking it?
- Is there history showing it in use, such as tickets or records that follow it?
- Does it cover a repeatable workflow, rather than a one-off project?
- Is it kept current, with changes reviewed?
- Can someone with authority sign off that it is yours to license?
Six or more yes answers: worth a review. Three to five: fix the gaps first. Fewer than three: probably not ready. A rough guide only, not a test any programme applies.
If you want a second opinion, the 3-minute check covers similar ground, and a person reviews your answers. The check is free.
What does the scorecard look like in practice?
Below is an illustrative example, not a real company: a 60-person professional services firm scoring its documents. Some pass clearly, some fail on ownership or content, and one needs work. It shows how a licensable core can sit among material that isn’t.
| Document | Result | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Client onboarding procedure, with linked case records | Passes | Specific, used daily, repeatable, records follow it. Client names need removing. |
| Quality-review checklist | Passes | Written by the firm, current, signed off by the quality lead. |
| Escalation playbook | Needs work | Specific and used, but last updated years ago and mentions named clients. |
| Health and safety policy | Fails | Adapted from a bought template. Generic, and not clearly the firm’s to license. |
| Client-supplied process manual | Fails | Belongs to the client. The firm has no right to license it. |
| Staff handbook | Fails | Mostly personal and employment information, not a work procedure. |
Two documents out of six look ready, one is fixable, three should stay out. The question is not whether you have SOPs but which of them are really yours, in use and clean. For a view on value, see what company data may be worth to AI or try the illustrative estimate, which is an estimate, not an offer.
What must you leave out?
Leave out anything containing personal data, client information or other people’s intellectual property, and anything you don’t have the right to license. Procedures that mention named clients or staff need cleaning first, or their contracts may need to allow it. Take advice before sharing anything doubtful.
Under UK GDPR, information about identifiable people is personal data, and removing names alone does not always make it anonymous. Client contracts may also restrict how you use material connected to their work. Our guide to client consent explains when you may need permission. This is general information, not legal advice; a solicitor can advise on your contracts and position. How we handle information you give us is in the privacy notice.
What happens if yours score well?
You can start the free check. We review your answers by hand, tell you which programmes we cover may suit you and why, and you decide what happens next. Orca charges a success fee only if a deal closes, agreed in writing first. Programmes may also pay Orca a referral fee, which we tell you about first.
Neither fee decides what we recommend. We act for your company, not the buyer. Details are on the disclosures page, and the rest of our guides are on the guides index. We can’t say when or whether an offer will follow, and prices may settle as more companies come forward.
Common questions
Do generic SOP templates count?
Generally not. A template downloaded from the internet or written to a standard format says nothing about how your firm works, and you probably don’t own it. Programmes look for procedures that are specific to your business and that people follow day to day.
Do we have to hand over every document?
No. Licensing is usually scoped to a defined set of material, for example one workflow and its supporting records. You choose what is in scope, and anything with personal or client information should be removed or left out before anything is shared.
Is an export of our wiki or shared drive enough?
An export is a starting point, not a package. Most of it will be out of date, duplicated or mixed with client material. The useful part is the subset that is current, specific and clean, ideally linked to records showing the work was done that way.
Does licensing mean an AI company owns our procedures?
Not by default. A licence grants specific rights for specific uses, and the terms decide the rest. Read what is permitted, for how long and whether it is exclusive before you agree, and have a solicitor review the contract.