AI Content Brief Template (Copy and Use)

What is an SEO content brief?

An SEO content brief is a one-page plan for a single page or article. It tells whoever writes it, a person or an AI tool, what the page is for and what it must include.

Briefs matter more with AI, not less. An AI tool given a one-line request returns the average of the internet. The same tool given a brief returns something specific to your business.

What is the content brief template?

The content brief template has nine fields. Copy it and fill it in.

CONTENT BRIEF

1. Target search:        [the main phrase people type]
2. What they want:       [learn / compare / buy / find a place]
3. Working title:        [under 60 characters, keyword near the front]
4. Angle:                [one sentence: our take, for whom]
5. Headings (as questions):
   - [H2]
   - [H2]
   - [H2]
6. Facts and sources:    [numbers, prices, names, each with a link]
7. Internal links:       [pages on our site to link to and from]
8. FAQs:                 [3 to 5 real customer questions]
9. What makes it different: [what we add that other pages lack]

How do you fill in the brief with AI?

You fill in the brief with AI by giving it the competing pages and asking for the gap. Search your target phrase, copy the titles and main headings of the top five results, and use this prompt.

You are a content strategist. My business: [what you sell, to whom, where].
Target search: "[phrase]".
Here are the titles and headings of the top 5 results: [paste].

Fill in this content brief template: [paste template].
For field 5, write headings as questions real people ask.
For field 9, name what these pages all miss.
Do not invent statistics or prices. Write [need from owner] where
only I would know the answer.

The last line is the important one. It makes the AI mark the places where your real knowledge is needed, and those places are what will make the page worth ranking.

What does a finished brief look like?

A finished brief looks like this example for a local service business.

1. Target search:   water heater repair cost
2. What they want:  compare prices before calling someone
3. Working title:   Water Heater Repair Cost: What to Expect
4. Angle:           Honest price ranges from a working plumber,
                    including when repair is not worth it
5. Headings:        How much does water heater repair cost?
                    What affects the price?
                    When should you replace instead of repair?
                    What can you check yourself first?
6. Facts:           [need from owner: our real price ranges]
7. Internal links:  water heater installation, emergency plumbing
8. FAQs:            How long does a repair take? Do you charge a
                    call-out fee? Is a leaking tank repairable?
9. Different:       Real local prices and a repair-or-replace rule
                    of thumb. Competing pages give national averages.

What are common mistakes in content briefs?

The common mistakes in content briefs are writing a draft instead of a plan, listing keywords without saying what the searcher wants, skipping field 9, and leaving out sources. A brief without a point of difference produces a page that matches everything already ranking, and Google has no reason to prefer it.

What should you do after the brief?

After the brief, write the page section by section. The method is in how to write SEO content with AI, and ready-made prompts are in prompts for SEO. The free AI SEO Prompt Builder can assemble the brief prompt for you.