Coda brain — your engagement portal

How to prepare for profound changes already today

Ethan Mollick’s observation that AI is becoming more “present and naturally connected to human systems and processes” resonates deeply with the future of Coda Brain. While the full implications of this shift remain to be seen, Coda is poised to become a central hub for this new era of AI-augmented work.

Coda Brain, with its AI and “packs” that integrate with other software is evolving into an AI-powered engagement portal that connects people, information, and processes in an intuitive and efficient way.

Here’s why I believe Coda brain is so powerful:

• Unified Access: Imagine accessing data from sources like Dropbox, Jira, Google Drive, your CRM, and other tools, all within Coda. No more switching between apps, no more data silos.
• AI-Powered Insights: Coda’s AI can intelligently understand your permissions in connected apps, ensuring you only see relevant data. It can also analyze this data and provide valuable insights.
• Simplified Collaboration: Share your findings with others effortlessly. Coda’s user-friendly interface makes collaboration a breeze, regardless of technical expertise. Every user can work with Coda brain.

Coda AI transcends the limitations of ‘no-code,’ moving beyond the traditional concept of a ‘maker.’ It empowers users to connect, explore, and engage with their data in a way that reimagines creation. This is not just about building; it’s about intuitive understanding and effortless manipulation of information. This is the future of Coda, and it’s incredibly exciting.

your legal expert a your service

Example I — The legal professional

Imagine our legal professional is dealing with a complex commercial lease dispute. Coda is connected, via a pack, to the firm’s document management system, which houses a vast repository of contracts, legal precedents, and client files.

1. Secure Data Access: When the lawyer poses a question to Coda AI about the lease dispute, the AI seamlessly accesses the relevant documents within the connected system. Importantly, Coda Brain respects the existing permissions structure (the Coda user is recognized as the same user in the related system), ensuring the AI only retrieves documents the lawyer is authorized to view. This guarantees data security and confidentiality.
2. AI-Powered Insights and Justification: Coda AI doesn’t just provide a pre-filled letter or a simple answer. It goes further by generating a clear explanation of its reasoning. Imagine the AI producing a statement like:

“Based on my analysis of the lease agreement dated [date] and relevant case law, including [case name 1] and [case name 2], I recommend advising your client to [action]. This is because [legal justification], as demonstrated in clause [clause number] of the lease agreement and supported by the precedent set in [case name 1].”

This transparency is crucial, as revealing the AI’s thought process allows lawyers to gain a clear understanding of how it arrived at its advice. This not only enables them to verify the accuracy and validity of the advice, but also to confidently explain the reasoning behind it to their clients, ultimately building stronger trust by demystifying the AI’s role. Furthermore, having an AI capable of analyzing the company’s knowledge library emphasizes the importance of keeping this information up-to-date, benefiting everyone in the organization. No longer is success solely dependent on the “most connected” or the employee with the best memory; instead, AI empowers everyone to contribute and achieve the best results as a team. This highlights the transformative power of Coda as an engagement portal, fostering a collaborative environment where everyone has access to the same knowledge and insights.

Example II — Coda Brain becomes your company wiki

The traditional company wiki, with its sprawling pages of information, convoluted organization, and constant need for manual updates, is becoming obsolete in the age of Coda Brain.

Instead of relying on a static wiki, imagine a dynamic, AI-powered knowledge base that seamlessly integrates with all your company’s data sources.

Here’s how it works:

1. Connect your data: Integrate Coda with your existing systems — file drives, databases, CRM, etc. — using packs. This allows Coda AI to access and analyze information scattered across your organization.
2. Ask questions, get answers: Need to know the company’s travel expense policy? Simply ask Coda AI. It will instantly sift through relevant documents, like employee handbooks and policy documents, and provide you with the most up-to-date information.
3. Contextualized information: Coda Brain understands permissions. So, an employee querying about expense policies will only see information relevant to their role. An executive might see different guidelines compared to a junior team member. This ensures everyone gets the right information without information overload.
4. No more manual updates: Forget about constantly updating wiki pages. When a policy changes, simply update the source document (a Coda doc, a word file in One Drive, a Pdf on Google Drive or Dropbox, etc.). Coda AI automatically reflects the changes in its responses, ensuring everyone has access to the latest information.

Coda Brain is more than just a company wiki; it’s a vibrant hub where everyone connects and learns together. Imagine a space where finding information is effortless, and contributing your own expertise feels natural. Coda Brain breaks down information silos, fostering a collaborative environment where everyone feels empowered to share ideas and contribute to a collective intelligence. It’s the key to unlocking a more engaged, informed, and ultimately, more successful workforce.

Coda pricing

Coda Brain offers a unique value proposition that’s particularly attractive to companies with a large number of knowledge workers who handle data and collaborate extensively. Think of it this way: software development has historically automated tasks that humans used to do, allowing companies to save money. Coda Brain takes this concept to the next level.

Imagine a team of 30 employees, each costing your company €5,000 per month (including salary, workspace, and so on). Hiring human assistants to support them gets expensive quickly. But what if Coda Brain could do the work of multiple assistants, streamlining tasks and making everyone more efficient?

That’s where Coda Brain shines. It becomes like an “invisible extra employee” that’s always there to help. Already at a price of around €2,500 per month — roughly half the cost of a single human employee in this scenario— it starts to look like a very smart investment. You’d be reducing labor costs while gaining a tireless worker that boosts productivity around the clock.

This is my estimation, the official Coda pricing policy likely differs, we simply don’t know yet.

In my opinion this appealing pricing logic is just the beginning. What’s truly transformative is how it democratizes data within your team. Everyone, not just spreadsheet enthusiasts, will find Coda intuitive and accessible. This empowers your entire team to engage with data, leading to better collaboration and insights.

How coda brain may affect permission management in Coda

My intuition is that the current editor/maker distinction within Coda will evolve significantly for companies leveraging Coda Brain. Initially, Coda Brain will mirror the create, read, update, and delete (CRUD) permissions of connected software like Jira, bringing that data into Coda docs. While full “maker” access might be required for updating external systems, I anticipate Coda will eventually adopt a more granular permission system, reflecting the nuanced access levels found in those external platforms. This evolution will enable a more seamless and secure flow of information between Coda and connected systems, ultimately enhancing collaboration and productivity.

Preparing for the future

Preparing for Coda Brain requires a distinct approach compared to traditional Coda consulting. It’s not simply about optimizing workflows or building complex formulas; it’s about guiding a fundamental shift in how organizations manage and interact with information in the age of AI. More about this in a next blog post.

I hope this article was informative and helpful. Did it help you to solve a problem you unlike would have solved other ways? What about a donation?

My name is Christiaan, and I regularly blog about Coda. While this article is free, my professional services (including consultations) are not, but I’m always happy to chat and explore potential solutions. You can find my free contributions in the Coda Community and on X. The Coda Community is a fantastic resource for free insights, especially when you share a sample doc.