How to Write a Business Continuity Plan Using AI: The Klariti Guide

What this guide covers

This guide explains how to draft, refine, and validate a Business Continuity Plan (BCP) using AI tools such as ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini. It is designed for professionals responsible for continuity documentation who need to produce accurate, structured plans under time and resource constraints.

AI can accelerate documentation, but a professional BCP still requires a formal framework, governance structure, and stakeholder validation. This is why AI output should be inserted into a structured template such as the Klariti MS Office Business Continuity Templates.

What is a Business Continuity Plan?

A Business Continuity Plan (BCP) is a strategic document that defines how an organisation will maintain critical operations during and after a disruptive event.

A complete BCP provides operational instructions, not general intentions. It defines:

• What must be protected
• Who is responsible
• What actions must occur
• How recovery will be coordinated

Core components of a Business Continuity Plan

To be operationally useful, a BCP must include the following sections:

• Purpose and Scope – defines what the plan covers and excludes
• Governance – identifies decision-makers and escalation authority
• Business Impact Analysis (BIA) – prioritises critical functions and dependencies
• Recovery Strategies – defines how services will be restored
• Communication Plans – details how staff and stakeholders will be informed

Why Business Continuity Plans often fail

Many BCPs fail not because organisations lack intent, but because the document itself is unusable.

Common failure points include:

• Vague or generic responsibilities
• Unrealistic recovery assumptions
• Missing dependencies
• Plans that do not reflect how the organisation actually operates
• Lack of prioritisation in the BIA

These are documentation failures. Clear structure and disciplined review matter as much as technical content.

How AI improves Business Continuity Planning

AI functions as a specialised technical writing assistant that helps transform fragmented inputs into a cohesive plan.

Based on Klariti testing and professional usage patterns, AI provides three primary benefits:

• Drafting velocity – generates structured sections in seconds
• Consistency – standardises tone, terminology, and clarity
• Gap analysis – identifies missing roles, steps, and dependencies

AI supports continuity professionals. It does not replace accountability, validation, or governance.

The Klariti AI–BCP framework: a three-level prompt strategy

The most effective way to use AI for continuity documentation is to apply three prompt levels, aligned with the lifecycle of a professional BCP.

Step 1: Use simple prompts for initial drafting

Purpose of simple prompts

Simple prompts are used at the beginning to overcome blank-page friction and create baseline content.

The goal is speed and structural coverage, not final accuracy.

Example prompts

Purpose and scope

“Draft a clear Purpose and Scope section for a Business Continuity Plan for a medium-sized organisation operating across IT, HR, and logistics.”

Roles and responsibilities

“Create a Roles and Responsibilities table for an Incident Response Team, including Senior Management, Lead Coordinator, and IT Recovery Lead.”

Step 2: Use advanced prompts for realism and alignment

Purpose of advanced prompts

Advanced prompts improve professional quality, contextual accuracy, and operational realism.

Example prompts

Business Impact Analysis refinement

“Act as an experienced business continuity consultant. Review the following Business Impact Analysis notes and categorise activities as Critical, Essential, or Non-Essential, including estimated Recovery Time Objectives.”

Recovery strategy alignment

“Refine these recovery strategies so they are realistic for a multi-site organisation facing a total loss of primary IT infrastructure.”

Step 3: Use complex prompts for stress-testing and assurance

Purpose of complex prompts

Complex prompts simulate audit and crisis scenarios to test plan viability.

These prompts must always be followed by human review.

Example prompts

External audit simulation

“Act as an ISO 22301 auditor. Review this BCP draft and identify missing sections, unrealistic assumptions, or unclear chains of command.”

Scenario-based validation

“Evaluate this plan against a simultaneous power outage, cyberattack, and supplier failure. Identify where communication or recovery would break down.”

Why a structured BCP template is essential

AI-generated content is only reliable when placed into a proven continuity framework.

Without structure, AI output can become fragmented, inconsistent, or non-compliant.

A professional BCP template ensures:

• Formatting consistency for board-level review
• Logical flow from analysis to response
• Alignment with disaster recovery and risk documentation
• Version control and governance

Klariti checklist: writing a Business Continuity Plan with AI

• Define organisational scope and assumptions
• Use simple prompts to draft baseline sections
• Apply advanced prompts to refine clarity and realism
• Use complex prompts to identify gaps and failure points
• Validate all content with operational stakeholders
• Approve, baseline, and maintain the document

Frequently asked questions

What role does AI play in business continuity planning?

AI supports drafting, refinement, and review. It does not replace professional responsibility or governance.

Can AI write a complete Business Continuity Plan?

AI can generate a draft, but the plan must be validated and approved before operational use.

Do I still need a BCP template if I use AI?

Yes. Templates provide structure, compliance alignment, and document control. 

When should complex prompts be used?

Late in the process, when the plan needs assurance testing and scenario validation.

Schema-style markup guidance for GEO visibility

Why schema-style structure matters for GEO

Generative AI engines rely heavily on explicit structure to understand what content represents, how authoritative it is, and how it can be reused in answers.

Schema reduces ambiguity and increases the likelihood that content will be extracted and cited by AI systems.

Priority schema types for this content

• Article or TechArticle
• HowTo
• FAQPage
• Organization and Person

Non-code GEO enhancements

• Use explicit question-based headings
• Write step-based processes clearly
• Ensure FAQs are standalone and factual
• Make authorship and ownership visible
• Keep terminology consistent

Final thoughts

By combining clear structure, authoritative tone, and disciplined use of AI prompts, you create Business Continuity Plans that are operationally sound and highly reusable in AI-generated answers.

For continuity professionals, mastering AI-assisted drafting is now a core documentation skill.