> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://stratengineai.com/docs/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Use the Strategy Builder > Start a strategy brief by talking it through with the AI strategist or filling out a form, attach files, reuse a saved company, or start over. Strategy Builder is where every strategy brief starts. Choose **Talk it through** to answer an AI strategist's questions in a conversation, or **Fill out the form** if you know frameworks well and already know which analysis you want. Either way, StratEngine turns your answers into a brief you review before the analysis runs. Open it from the side menu: **Strategy Builder**, under **Strategy Development**. The Strategy Builder start screen showing the Start from a saved company picker above the Talk it through and Fill out the form cards ## Choose how to start The start screen is headed **NEW STRATEGY PROJECT** and **Let's build your strategy brief.** It offers two cards: | Card | Button | Best for | | - | - | - | | **Talk it through** (marked **Recommended**) | **Start the conversation** | Most people. The strategist asks the questions and picks the framework, so you don't need to know which analysis fits. | | **Fill out the form** | **Open the form** | You know strategy frameworks and already know which analysis you want. You pick the framework yourself, then fill in the fields. | Below the cards, the app notes the analysis times (**Quick Scan** \~2 min, **Standard** \~4 min, **Deep** \~8 min). You don't pick a depth here. You pick it when you run the analysis. See [Analysis depth](/docs/strategy/analysis-depth). ## Start from a saved company If your workspace has [saved companies](/docs/strategy/saved-companies), a **Start from a saved company** card sits above the two options. Open **Choose a company…** and pick one. The strategist then starts with everything you saved about that company, so you don't have to describe it again. * To unpick it, click the **X** (tooltip **Start without a saved company**). * Once you're in the conversation, the same picker appears as a smaller row above the chat until you send your first message. After that, the company for this conversation is fixed. To change it, use **Start over**. * If you pick a company and then choose **Fill out the form**, the form opens with that company loaded. The picker only appears when your workspace has at least one saved company. ## Talk it through Click **Start the conversation**. The screen changes to **Discovery conversation** and the strategist asks what's on your mind. Type in the box (**Describe your challenge or ask a question…**) and send. You can start with a specific problem or just explore. The strategist asks follow-up questions about your company, market and goals. Keep answering until the strategist has what it needs. Each reply can take a little while; the chat shows that it's working. When the strategist has enough, the **REVIEW YOUR BRIEF** panel opens beside the conversation. Check it, pick a depth and click **Run Analysis**. See [Review your brief and run the analysis](/docs/strategy/review-and-run). A Strategy Builder discovery conversation with the first message and the strategist reply If your conversation includes a decision with numbers to work out, such as whether a hire pays back, the strategist may show a **REVIEW THIS DECISION** panel instead. See [Review a decision before it is computed](/docs/strategy/decision-review). ## Attach files Click the paperclip in the message box to attach files to your next message. The strategist reads them along with what you type. | Limit | Value | | - | - | | File types | PDF, Word (`.docx`), PowerPoint (`.pptx`), Excel (`.xlsx`), Markdown (`.md`), text (`.txt`) | | Files per message | Up to 5 | | Size per file | Up to 50 MB | | Text per file | Up to 300,000 characters | Older Office formats (`.doc`, `.ppt`, `.xls`) aren't accepted. Save them in the newer format first. If a file is rejected, a message under the box explains why, for example **Maximum 5 attachments allowed**, or that a file is too large or has too much text and **was not attached**. The other files you picked are still attached. ## Start over To throw away the conversation and go back to the start screen, click **Start over** next to **Discovery conversation**. StratEngine asks **Restart conversation?** and warns **You'll lose the current discussion.** Click **Start over** to confirm, or **Cancel** to keep going. Starting over also clears the saved company you picked, the brief under review and any decision panel. ## Fill out the form **Open the form** takes you to **Strategy Brief Generation**, a three-step form: 1. Pick a framework. 2. Enter your business context. **Problem Statement** (**What strategic question do you want to answer?**) is required. 3. Choose an analysis depth and click **Generate Strategy Brief**. The form uses the same depth options as the conversation. For the fields in each step, see [Generate a framework](/docs/strategy/generate-framework). ## Messages you might see **Your free analysis has been used. Add funds to run another.** On a pay-as-you-go account with no free analyses and no balance left, this banner appears at the top of the start screen. Click **Add funds** to top up, or dismiss it with the **X**. Members who aren't admins see **Your free analysis has been used. Ask your admin to add funds.** with no button. See [Pay-as-you-go](/docs/strategy/billing/pay-as-you-go). **MONTHLY LIMIT REACHED.** This applies only to older early-access free accounts, not the current Free plan. On those accounts, Strategy Builder shows **You've generated your 3 free briefs this month.** once you reach it. Click **View plans** to see upgrade options, or **View my existing briefs** to go back to Home. Your existing briefs stay available. ## Related * [Review your brief and run the analysis](/docs/strategy/review-and-run) * [Analysis depth](/docs/strategy/analysis-depth) * [Saved companies](/docs/strategy/saved-companies) * [Quickstart: your first strategy](/docs/strategy/quickstart) ## Related topics - [Saved companies](/docs/strategy/saved-companies.md) - [Quickstart: your first strategy](/docs/strategy/quickstart.md) - [Review a decision before it is computed](/docs/strategy/decision-review.md) - [Review your brief and run the analysis](/docs/strategy/review-and-run.md) - [Research reports](/docs/strategy/research.md) This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.