If the monster dies, a swallowed creature can be freed by creatures adjacent to the corpse if they spend a combined total of 3 actions cutting the monster open with a weapon or unarmed attack that deals piercing or slashing damage.
Do the freeing creatures just automatically succeed at doing this? Do they have to perform the Strike action 3 times and beat the dead creature's AC? Will activities that spend actions to make weapon attacks (such as Power Attack and Sudden Charge) also qualify? How much would they contribute?
I think it's not a strike action, I think it's an action of "cutting the monster open", but I would consider letting a strike of some sort count depending on the reason. And as for things that are multiple action activities that also have a strike, I would let them count, but At best it would only be the number of strike activities performed in that action that would qualify.
Such as sudden charge is a two action activity allowing you to move up to twice your speed and then make a strike. At best I would count that as 1 action toward cutting open the monster.
But honestly, I do think there is a significant difference between a strike and "cutting open a monster" in what can is done. However, I think it might also be too punishing and unfun (for players) to actually say "no, your special abilities that include strikes don't work because cutting open the monster isn't a strike". So even though I personally don't think those things should work, I probably wouldn't run it that way.
Yeah, it reads as an Interact action to me as well. But I would also allow a Strike to count for the same reason as Claxon.
By RAW, it's 3 actions with no check the requirement only being that a slashing/piercing option is available, and no way to lower the amount of time/effort needed. After all, one action to cut, one action to grab the creature, and another to drag them out, seems pretty logical.
If GM wants to require checks to either lower the time or if extraneous circumstances present themselves (such as if the creature is pinned beneath rubble) that is up to them. Otherwise, it just happens, and this is done both for ease of play as well as for balance, since in some cases, a swallowed player might as well be dead if it is impossible to escape through mundane means.
It is interesting that it much be a weapon or unarmed attack. I guess that if all you have are spellcasters with staves, then they're just a goner. Another good reason to just carry a belt knife with you at all times, I suppose.
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I mean, I would probably permit a Gouging Claw or Telekinetic Projectile with slashing damage and just add an action cost to it, since the big thing is that you need to cut them out with a sharp object. Denying it seems more like ignorant GMing than there being a sensible rules basis behind it.
Conversely, someone inside said creature should be able to spend the actions to accomplish this instead if they are still conscious.