Auto Mode is set per Topic, so one Auto Mode Topic (is this enforceable?) can sit alongside seven Rules-based ones in the same Playbook. The Review comes back as one result with the same risk badges throughout.
When Auto Mode wins over Rules
Turning Auto Mode on for a Topic
You need edit access to the Playbook. On a Playbook a colleague shared with you as view-only, expanding a Topic still shows you whether it runs in Auto Mode, but the control is inert — you cannot switch a Topic in or out of it.1
Open the Playbook
Click Templates in the global part of the sidebar and switch to the Reviews tab, then open the Playbook you want to change. The breadcrumb reads Templates › Reviews followed by the Playbook’s name.
2
Expand the Topic
Click the chevron at the right of the Topic row. The Topic expands in place — there is no separate editor window — and the per-Topic controls appear.
3
Turn Auto Mode on
At the right of the expanded row, next to the delete and collapse controls, sits an icon-only button with no visible label. Hover it and the tooltip reads Auto mode – ask Libra to conduct legal research to evaluate this topic.; its screen-reader label is Enable auto mode. Click it. Once on, the button stays highlighted, and clicking it again (Disable auto mode) returns the Topic to Positions and Rules.If the Topic already has any Position or Rule content, the Switch to Auto Mode confirmation appears first. Choose Continue to accept the loss, or Cancel to leave the Topic as it is.
4
Pick the Research Sources
The Topic body is replaced by two fields. The first, Research Sources, is where you choose the databases Libra should consult — Wolters Kluwer Online, Verlag Dr. Otto Schmidt, Web Search and so on. The list is filtered by your team’s jurisdictions and by what your firm has licensed, so it differs between accounts.
5
Write the Question
Below it, Question takes a single question, written the way you would write a chat prompt: Does the claims-waiver clause hold up under current German case law? or Is the non-compete duration enforceable in this jurisdiction?
6
Save
Click Save. On an existing Playbook, Start Review is the primary button and Save sits beside it; Start Review stays disabled until you save, so save first. The next Review you run uses Auto Mode for that Topic.
What Libra works from
Libra sends the model your Question together with the Topic’s name, description and scope, plus the passages it matched in the contract. What happens next depends on the sources:- With research sources selected, Libra runs the research tools for those sources, then writes its answer from the contract and the research together.
- With none selected, Auto Mode does no research at all. It reads the contract and answers your question from the document alone — still useful, but not research-backed.
What the Auto Mode result looks like
On the Review result, an Auto Mode Topic sits in the same numbered list as every other Topic and carries:
An Auto Mode Topic has no Positions section — there are no Positions to meet — but it does get the same Verify control as any other Topic, so it fits the same sign-off routine.
The Auto mode badge and its source icons live on the Review result, not in the Playbook editor. In the editor, the only marker that a Topic runs in Auto Mode is the highlighted icon button on its row, and that appears only once the row is expanded — a collapsed list of Topics gives nothing away. The result badge does not depend on edit permission: anyone who can open the Review sees which Topics ran in Auto Mode and on which sources. Sources you have since lost access to drop off the badge silently.
A worked example
The shape below is illustrative — Libra writes one continuous answer rather than filling in fixed headings.Topic 01: Contractual penalty clause — High risk, Auto mode Question: Does the contractual penalty clause hold up against current case law? Research Sources: Wolters Kluwer Online Reasoning: Contractual penalty clauses are enforceable where the daily rate is proportionate to the breach and an aggregate cap limits cumulative exposure. The daily rate here, €500, sits within the accepted range, but the clause sets no aggregate cap on cumulative penalties, and decisions in the cited commentary treat that omission as unreasonable regardless of the daily rate. Adding a cap — for example 5% of the contract value — would bring the clause back into line.You get a research-grounded written answer with the nuance only research provides, placed in the same structured Review format as the Rules-based Topics around it.
Mixing Auto Mode and Rules in one Playbook
A common pattern: most Topics use Rules, because your firm has clear positions on most things, and one or two use Auto Mode for the research-heavy questions where fixed positions don’t apply.Tips for good Auto Mode questions
Ask one thing per Topic
Ask one thing per Topic
Is this enforceable AND does the duration comply with statutory limits? is two questions. Split them into two Topics if you need both answered.
Be specific about the legal context
Be specific about the legal context
Under German employment law gives you a tighter, more usable answer than the same question without a jurisdiction.
Select a research source unless you mean not to
Select a research source unless you mean not to
A Topic with no sources selected is answered from the contract alone, with no research step. If you want case law behind the answer, pick at least one source.
Verify the citations
Verify the citations
Every citation chip opens its source. Click through and confirm the cited passage says what Libra summarised, the same way you would check a junior’s research note.
Don't use Auto Mode for things you do every day
Don't use Auto Mode for things you do every day
If your firm has run the same Review fifty times, Rules give you faster, cheaper, more consistent results. Save Auto Mode for the questions that genuinely need research.
Next steps
Build a Playbook
Build the Rules-based parts of your Playbook.
Understanding results
Read both Auto Mode and Rules Topics in a single Review.