A content brief is a structured blueprint for your article. It defines what to write, how to structure it, which keywords to target, and what your competitors are covering — all before you type a single sentence of the actual article.
Skipping the brief and jumping straight into writing is one of the most common content mistakes. Without a plan, articles tend to miss important subtopics, ignore what's already ranking, and underperform in search results. Content Studio's AI-generated briefs solve this by analyzing the competitive landscape for your keyword and producing a detailed outline in seconds.
Step 1: Start a New Brief
Navigate to Content Studio from the main menu.
Click the + New Brief button.
Enter your primary keyword in the keyword field.
Your primary keyword is the main search term you want this article to rank for. Be specific enough to reflect real search intent. For example, "how to build backlinks" is more actionable than just "backlinks."
Tip: If you've already saved keywords in your Keyword Vault, you can send them directly to Content Studio to skip this step.
Step 2: Choose a Content Type
Content Studio offers several content formats, each with a structure tailored to its purpose:
Content Type | Best For | Typical Structure |
|---|---|---|
Blog Post | Standard informational articles | Introduction, body sections, conclusion |
How-To Guide | Step-by-step tutorials and processes | Sequential numbered steps with explanations |
Listicle | Curated lists of tips, tools, or examples | Numbered items with descriptions |
Comparison | "X vs Y" evaluations | Side-by-side analysis with pros/cons |
Review | Product or service evaluations | Features, benefits, drawbacks, verdict |
Choose the type that best matches the search intent behind your keyword. If someone searching "best email marketing tools" expects a list, a listicle format will perform better than a standard blog post.
Step 3: Configure Brief Settings
Before generating the brief, you'll set a few parameters that shape the output.
Target Word Count
Word count matters because it signals to the AI how comprehensive your article should be. Use these ranges as starting points:
Range | Label | When to Use |
|---|---|---|
800–1,200 words | Short form | Quick answers, simple topics, news-style posts |
1,500–2,500 words | Standard | Most informational blog posts and guides |
2,500–4,000 words | Long form | Comprehensive guides, detailed tutorials |
4,000+ words | Pillar content | Definitive resources meant to be the best page on a topic |
Tip: Before choosing a word count, search your target keyword on Google and look at the top-ranking results. If the top three articles are all 3,000+ words, a 900-word post is unlikely to compete. Match or exceed what's already ranking for comprehensive topics.
Tone and Style
Select the voice that matches your brand and audience:
Professional — Polished and authoritative. Good for B2B, financial, or technical content.
Conversational — Friendly and approachable. Works well for blogs, small business content, and consumer-facing topics.
Technical — Precise and detailed. Best for developer documentation, engineering topics, or advanced audiences.
Casual — Relaxed and informal. Suitable for lifestyle, personal blogs, and community content.
Target Audience
Describe who you're writing for in a short sentence or two. This helps the AI calibrate the level of explanation and the types of examples it includes.
Good examples:
"Small business owners new to SEO who have never built backlinks before."
"Experienced digital marketers at agencies managing 10+ client accounts."
"E-commerce store owners using Shopify who want to improve organic traffic."
The more specific your audience description, the more relevant the output will be.
Step 4: Generate the Brief
Click Generate Brief and Content Studio's AI will analyze your keyword, review what's currently ranking, and produce a structured plan for your article. The brief includes four main sections.
Suggested Title Options
You'll receive multiple headline variations optimized for both search engines and reader engagement. These balance keyword inclusion with compelling phrasing designed to earn clicks in search results. You can use one as-is, combine elements from several, or write your own inspired by the suggestions.
Article Outline
This is the core of the brief — a structured hierarchy of H2 and H3 headings that forms the skeleton of your article. Each section includes key points to cover, ensuring your article addresses the topic comprehensively.
The outline is designed to flow logically from introduction through supporting sections to conclusion, matching the patterns that perform well in search results for your keyword.
Keywords to Include
The brief identifies several categories of keywords:
Primary keyword — Your main target term, which should appear in the title, introduction, and naturally throughout the article.
Secondary keywords — Closely related variations that broaden the article's relevance (e.g., if your primary is "build backlinks," secondaries might include "link building strategies" or "earn backlinks").
Related terms (LSI keywords) — Semantically connected words and phrases that signal topical depth to search engines. LSI stands for Latent Semantic Indexing — these are terms that frequently co-occur with your primary keyword in high-quality content.
Questions to answer — Specific questions people ask about your topic, often pulled from "People Also Ask" boxes and search suggestions. Answering these directly can help you win featured snippets.
Competitor Analysis
Content Studio examines what the top-ranking pages for your keyword cover, highlighting the topics and angles they address, gaps you can fill with unique information, and different angles you might take to differentiate your article.
This analysis helps you understand the minimum bar for competing while also identifying opportunities to go beyond what already exists.
Step 5: Review and Customize Your Brief
This is the most important step, and the one most people rush through. The AI gives you a strong starting point, but customizing the brief before generating the full article dramatically improves the final output.
Review the outline structure. Does the order of sections make logical sense? Would a reader follow this flow naturally? Rearrange sections if needed.
Add or remove sections. If the AI included a section that's not relevant to your angle, remove it. If you know of a subtopic it missed, add it. You have complete control over the outline.
Adjust heading phrasing. Make headings match your brand voice. If the AI suggested "Comprehensive Guide to Link Acquisition Methodologies," you might simplify it to "How to Get More Backlinks."
Include specific points. If you have proprietary data, case studies, customer quotes, or original research you want included, note these in the relevant sections. The AI can't know what unique insights you bring — this is where you add them.
Add reference notes. If certain sections should cite specific sources or include particular examples, annotate the brief with those details.
Important: The more you customize your brief, the better your generated article will be. Think of the brief as instructions to a writer — the clearer and more specific your instructions, the closer the first draft will be to what you want.
Practical Next Steps
Once your brief is finalized, you're ready to generate a full article. Head to Generating Full Articles with AI for a walkthrough of that process.
If you'd prefer to write the article yourself using the brief as a guide, skip ahead to Working with the Editor to learn about Content Studio's editing features.