Several of our key operational experts are planning to retire in the next two years, and much of their expertise is tribal knowledge. Can we use AI to capture their decision-making process before they leave, or is that unrealistic?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

You can use AI to accelerate this knowledge transfer, but you cannot simply plug an AI into their brains. Tribal knowledge is highly contextual, and retiring experts often do not even realize why they make certain decisions because they do it by instinct.

To capture this expertise, you must first create a structured extraction process. Have your retiring experts use simple voice-recording tools to narrate their actions as they work. When they solve a complex customer issue, negotiate a vendor contract, or diagnose a machine failure, they should record a raw voice memo explaining their thinking.

You can then feed these raw recordings and transcriptions into a secure, private AI model. The AI can analyze the patterns in their decision-making and draft structured playbooks. This allows you to build an internal knowledge base that younger team members can query using natural language.

However, the human step remains critical. A younger engineer or manager must review these AI-drafted playbooks alongside the retiring expert to verify that the nuance was not lost. Use this process to officially update your documented core processes. AI is the translator, but your retiring human's brain is the source.