Use Avid AI, Avid's AI assistant, to describe a campaign goal and receive a fully customized play recommendation with audiences, assets, strategy, and timing — ready to launch in minutes.
Use this article when
- You want to launch a fundraising campaign but are not sure which play type fits best.
- You need Avid to suggest audiences, touchpoints, and timing based on a campaign goal.
- You want AI-generated strategy content (key messages, campaign overview) for a new play.
- You have an existing brief or document you want to import into a new play.
Applies to and prerequisites
| Requirement | Details |
|---|---|
| Permission | Playbooks > Edit |
| Data required | At least one connected data source with contacts |
| Time | 3–5 minutes |
Steps
1. Open Smart Play
Go to Playbooks in the left navigation.
You see the Playbooks landing page with the Home tab active. This page shows suggested play types at the top and your existing plays below. You can also switch to the Catalog tab to browse all available play types.
Find the Smart Play card on the left side of the suggested plays row.
Click Start on the Smart Play card.
The Build a Smart Play dialog opens.
You can also click the dive-deeper icon on the Smart Play card to read more about how it works before starting.
2. Describe your campaign
In the text area, describe your campaign goal in a few sentences. Include details such as:
- The purpose of the campaign (e.g., "year-end giving appeal targeting lapsed donors").
- Your target audience (e.g., "mid-level donors who haven't given in 12+ months").
- Preferred channels (e.g., "email and direct mail").
- Timing (e.g., "launch in early November, end December 31").
Click Next.
A notification appears: "We're searching for the perfect play and customizing it to meet your needs." Avid AI works in the background. You can continue using Avid while it processes.
You can include a URL in your description. Avid AI will search the web page for relevant context to inform its recommendation.
3. Review the suggestion
When Avid AI finishes, the Your Suggested Play opens automatically. It includes:
| Section | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Play type | The recommended play template with name, image, and suggested campaign date. |
| Audiences to Target | A list of audiences. Each is labeled Existing (already in your audiences) or New (Avid AI will create it for you). Existing audiences show contact count and data source. |
| Customizations | Assets Avid AI added, removed, or adjusted. Shows timing in days before the campaign end date. |
| Explanation | Avid AI's reasoning for the recommendation. |
4. Refine or start the play
You have two options:
Option A: Refine the suggestion
- Click Refine at the bottom of the suggestion modal.
- In the Refine Play Suggestion dialog, describe what you want changed. For example:
- "Focus more on lapsed donors."
- "Add an email two weeks before the end date."
- "Change to a year-end giving play instead."
Click Submit.
A notification appears: "We're refining the play suggestion based on your feedback." Avid AI returns an updated proposal. You can refine as many times as needed.
Option B: Start the play
- Click Start at the bottom of the suggestion modal.
Avid creates the play, sets up any new audiences, and opens the play editor.
You land on the play builder with a Strategy tab and a Touchpoints tab where you can manage campaign messaging and assets.
5. Review the AI-generated strategy
After starting the play, Avid AI generates a Strategy Brief in the background. The play builder opens with two tabs: Strategy and Touchpoints. When the brief finishes generating, the Strategy tab populates with AI-written content for each strategy prompt (e.g., Urgent Needs, Value Proposition, Recent Achievements).
Open your new play and go to the Strategy Brief section.
Cards will show for each strategy prompt.
- Click the text in any card to edit it directly.
To regenerate a section, click Refine on the card header.
Avid AI opens the Refine Strategy dialog. Describe what you want changed and click Refine.
- To undo AI changes, click Revert on any card to restore your previous content.
- Click Save at the bottom of the page to keep your changes.
Below the strategy prompts, you can also add Custom Input text for touchpoint generation and upload Playbook Base Images that serve as starting points for AI image generation.
LockStep insight:
Review Avid AI's strategy suggestions carefully. The AI pulls from your organization's brand materials, past campaigns, and news when available. Edit the tone and details to match your brand voice before launching.
6. Import a document into your strategy (optional)
If you have an existing campaign brief, creative document, or web page, you can use Smart Import to auto-fill the strategy prompts.
- In the Strategy Brief section, click Smart Import in the top-right corner.
- Choose one of:
- URL: Paste a web address and click Scan.
- File upload: Drag and drop or select a document (PDF, DOCX, etc.).
Click Scan.
Avid AI reads the content and fills in the strategy prompts. You can then edit each section as needed.
What you'll see
- A new play in your Playbooks list with the AI-recommended type, audiences, and assets configured.
- A populated Strategy Brief with AI-generated campaign messaging you can edit or refine.
- A Touchpoints tab with all campaign assets (emails, ads, text messages, donation pages, quizzes) organized in a grid view. Each touchpoint shows its target audience, launch date, and status.
- Any new audiences Avid AI created appear in Pathways > Segments.
- Citations below each strategy section showing the sources Avid AI referenced (brand materials, past briefs, news).
Notes, limits, and common questions
What play types can Avid AI suggest?
Avid AI can recommend any play type in the Avid catalog, including Anniversary Appeal, Lapsed Donor Reactivation, Year-End Digital Fundraising, Giving Tuesday, New Donor Welcome Series, Recurring Donor Acquisition, and many more. Each play type has a focus area (Acquisition, Retention, Reactivation, Upgrade, or Awareness), complexity rating, and estimated runtime. Avid AI uses your campaign description to match against these templates. If no strong match exists, Avid AI falls back to the General Marketing Campaign play type and tailors the strategy prompts to your specific goal. You can browse all available types on the Catalog tab of the Playbooks page.
Can I use Smart Play more than once for the same campaign?
Yes. Each time you click Start on the Smart Play card, Avid AI creates a new suggestion. Previous plays remain unchanged.
What audience types does Avid AI create?
Avid AI can suggest owned audiences (built from your first-party CRM data) and modeled audiences (lookalike audiences seeded from your first-party data). It does not create interest-based or behavior-based targeting audiences.
What touchpoint types does Avid AI create?
Depending on the play type, Avid AI can generate touchpoints across multiple channels: emails (story of impact, social proof, last chance), Facebook ads (reactivation, quiz promotion), text messages, donation pages, quizzes (informational with questions and educational responses), and automation emails (quiz follow-ups, thank-you messages). Each touchpoint shows its target audience, scheduled launch date, and current status in the Touchpoints tab.
How does asset timing work?
All asset timing is relative to the campaign end date. For example, an email set to 14 days before the end date means it sends two weeks before the campaign closes. Avid AI may adjust default timing from the play template based on your campaign description.
What sources does Avid AI use to write strategy content?
Avid AI references your organization's brand materials, previous campaign briefs, and news stories stored in Avid. It can also search the web if you include a URL in your campaign description. Sources appear as citations beneath each strategy section.
Can I edit the strategy after Avid AI generates it?
Yes. Click any strategy card to edit the text directly. Use Refine to have Avid AI regenerate a section with your feedback. Use Revert to undo AI changes and restore your previous content. Click Save to keep your changes.
Avid AI processes suggestions in the background. If you navigate away from Playbooks, you will receive a notification when the suggestion is ready.