LOS ALTOS, Calif., Aug. 13, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Playbook, formerly Powder, today announced the launch of its AI orchestration platform designed specifically for wealth management firms. The new platform enables registered investment advisors (RIAs), family offices and wealth management firms to automate complex operational workflows, create custom AI-powered processes in minutes and continuously optimize those workflows over time.

The launch marks a significant evolution from Powder’s original focus on document processing and proposal generation. Today, Playbook serves as an intelligent orchestration engine that allows firms to build, deploy and improve AI agents across virtually every aspect of their business, from client onboarding and proposal creation to estate planning analysis, compliance reviews, tax document processing and investment research.

“Playbook AI agents distill new automation ideas, build the workflows, dial them in to run successfully and optimize them for the best combination of quality, cost and ROI,” said Kanishk Parashar, founder and CEO of Playbook. “That lays the groundwork for firms that want to become truly AI-native. As AI intelligence improves, these agents will take on increasingly complex tasks, giving advisors and their teams greater capacity to focus on the work that requires human judgment.”

Playbook is also designed to make AI economics more practical for advisory firms. Rather than forcing every workflow through the same model or cost structure, the platform helps firms align each task with the appropriate level of AI capability based on quality, speed, security and cost. That gives firms a clearer path to adopting AI at scale while maintaining control over usage costs and understanding the return generated by each automation.

“As AI becomes more powerful, the question for advisory firms is shifting from whether the technology works to whether it can be deployed in a way that makes economic sense,” Parashar said. “Playbook is built to give firms that clarity. The goal is to help them understand where AI creates measurable leverage, which workflows produce the strongest return and how to use the right model for the right job.”

At the center of the solution is a growing library of pre-built AI automations, known as “plays,” that address common advisor workflows. Firms can deploy ready-made automations for client onboarding, ACAT transfer reconciliation, proposal generation, estate document reviews, tax analysis, insurance reviews and prospect research.

For firms with unique requirements, Playbook includes a capability called Playmaker, which allows users to describe a workflow in plain English. The system asks clarifying questions, builds the automation and refines it through ongoing use.

Unlike traditional workflow software, Playbook continuously evaluates past performance and automatically improves processes over time. Enhancements are deployed across the organization, enabling firms to benefit from collective learning rather than maintaining static workflows.

The platform also integrates with calendars, CRMs, communication systems and document repositories, allowing automations to launch automatically when specific events occur.

The transition from Powder to Playbook emerged from an unexpected breakthrough inside the company itself.

“When I stepped away from the business for health reasons, I started building an AI agent to solve one of our most difficult engineering problems,” Parashar said. “Within weeks, that agent was outperforming the systems we had spent years developing. It became clear we were building more than a better workflow tool. We were building a platform capable of creating specialized AI agents that can perform operational and analytical work at a level that was not previously possible. That is how Playbook was born.”

Parashar previously co-founded Real Capital Innovation, the company behind Navigator, a forward-looking portfolio modeling and analysis platform. Addepar acquired RCI in 2021 and integrated its team and technology into the company, giving Parashar prior experience building wealth management technology that became part of a larger industry platform.

The breakthrough centered on document intelligence. After years of development and multiple engineering iterations, the company’s document processing systems achieved approximately one-third perfect accuracy across the wide range of financial documents advisors encounter daily. By deploying a self-improving AI agent, Playbook increased accuracy to approximately 97% across document types while dramatically reducing processing times and manual review requirements. That experience shaped the foundation of the Playbook platform.

Approximately 40 firms representing roughly $660 billion in combined client assets currently use the platform to automate operational and analytical processes.

Playbook is now seeking a select group of wealth management firms to help tackle ambitious, enterprise-wide automation opportunities. Inspired by Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan’s call to “boil the ocean,” the initiative will bring Playbook engineers together with participating firms to identify high-value operational challenges, build and refine new plays, and establish measurable benchmarks for quality, cost and return on investment. Firms interested in participating can learn more at askplaybook.ai.

“Our customers are looking for a way to transform how work gets done across the entire organization,” Parashar said. “Playbook provides the foundation for that transformation and gives firms a practical path toward becoming truly AI-native. It is about giving advisors more leverage, more visibility and more confidence that AI can create measurable business value.”

About Playbook

Playbook is an AI orchestration platform built for wealth management firms. The platform enables advisors, operations teams and compliance professionals to deploy pre-built AI automations, create custom workflows and continuously improve operational processes across the enterprise. By combining specialized AI agents, firm-specific knowledge, cost-aware model selection and autonomous workflow orchestration, Playbook helps firms reduce manual work, increase efficiency, clarify ROI and scale client service. Formerly known as Powder, the company serves RIAs, family offices and wealth management organizations across the United States. To learn more or explore a partnership, visit askplaybook.ai.

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Source: Playbook