Short answer
ASOP stands for agentic standard operating procedure: a written procedure an AI agent follows for one type of customer request. It sets when it applies, what to check, the steps and how the conversation ends, and is tested before going live.- Full form
- Agentic standard operating procedure
- Written for
- An AI agent, not a person
- Scope
- One type of request, with what it is not for
- Before live
- Tested on real past conversations
In other fields ASOP has other meanings. In insurance and pensions, for example, it is short for Actuarial Standard of Practice. This page is about the customer service meaning.
SOP vs ASOP
A traditional SOP is a document a person reads and follows, trusting them to fill the gaps with judgement. An agentic SOP is one an AI agent carries out, so it cannot rely on the reader to fill gaps. It has to be exact about scope.
| SOP | ASOP | |
|---|---|---|
| Who follows it | A person | An AI agent |
| Scope | Often a whole process | One type of request |
| Says what it is not for | Rarely | Always |
| Tested before use | Through training | On real past conversations |
| Changes | Edited in a document | Drafted, reviewed and set live, with every version kept |
The parts of an ASOP
- When to use. The situation in plain words, including what it is not for: "A parcel marked delivered that the customer says never arrived. Not when it is only late."
- Conditions. Facts that must be true before it runs, such as the channel, the order existing or the tracking status.
- Steps. What to do, one at a time: ask for the order number, check the tracking, answer from the shipping policy, tag the conversation.
- Finish. Reply and stay open, hand off to the team, or close.
That narrow scope is what makes an ASOP testable. You can see which past conversations it would have picked up, and which it would have left alone, before any customer meets it.
In Aide, the steps are one plain-English document where typing @ adds a field to collect, an action such as updating the shipping address or tagging the Shopify order, or the sources to answer from, plus simple If / Otherwise branches. Aide works one step at a time and keeps details the customer gave early, so it does not ask for them twice.
An example ASOP
When to use: a customer asks to change the shipping address on an order that has not shipped. Not for orders already in transit.
Conditions: the order's status is not shipped yet.
Steps: confirm the order belongs to the customer, collect the new address, update it on the order, confirm the change in the reply.
Finish: reply and close.
The mistake this format avoids is the one long prompt that tries to cover every situation at once. Nobody can test that, and nobody can tell which part caused a bad reply.
With Aide, this example also carries its edge cases as training messages: "Use when" examples such as "I moved, can you send it to my new flat?" and "Don't use when" examples such as "it already shipped, can you redirect it?". If the customer changes subject halfway, the procedure's settings decide whether Aide answers and stays, hands off or switches to a procedure that fits better. More on Shopify address changes.
Turning an existing SOP into an ASOP
Most teams already have SOPs, in a shared doc, a macro or the head of their best agent. The work is converting them: cutting a whole process down to one request type, adding the "not for" line, and turning "use your judgement" into a step the agent can follow.
In Aide, Describe your process does the first draft. Paste the SOP, a macro or a sample chat, or explain the process in your own words, and Aide drafts the whole procedure: When to use, examples, steps with the workspace's own fields, macros and teams, any If / Otherwise branches, and the finish. Anything the process needs that the workspace doesn't have yet is listed under Needs, and an unclear description gets up to three questions instead of guesses. The draft is created switched off; nothing reaches a customer until someone reviews it and sets it live.
Where Aide fits
In Aide, ASOPs are built as procedures, under Automations > Procedures. Each has a When to use of up to 300 characters, where it runs (whole channels or specific inboxes), optional conditions on the topic or the Shopify order, such as its status, steps, and a finish. Owners and admins check a procedure against the last 50 conversations, try the draft in a preview chat, then set it live, and every version is kept. Each customer message follows at most one procedure; when none fits, Aide replies as usual.