Skip to content
2 min read

How to brief a content agent

Agents don’t need clever prompts. They need a brief, the same kind you would give a good freelancer. A short, specific brief gets you a better first draft than a long, vague one.

Five things to include#

  1. The outcome. What should exist at the end? “A 60-second explainer video” works. “Something about our launch” doesn’t.
  2. The audience. Who is it for, and what do they already know?
  3. The source material. Links, files, notes, recordings. Agents work from your facts, so give them your facts.
  4. The constraints. Length, languages, formats, deadline, and anything to avoid.
  5. The checkpoints. Where do you want to approve before the agents continue? For example, after the script or after the storyboard.

Three things to leave out#

  • Step-by-step instructions. The lead agent plans the steps. Tell it the result, not the route.
  • Prompt tricks. Role-play and magic words are not needed. Plain language works best.
  • Your whole brand guide. Put your tone, terms, colours and fonts in your brand kit once. Every agent reads it on every job.

A brief you can copy#

Outcome:
Audience:
Sources:
Constraints:
Approve before:

Example#

  • Outcome: A 90-second animated video explaining our new invoice approvals.
  • Audience: Finance teams at mid-sized companies, not technical.
  • Sources: The release notes and the help article (linked).
  • Constraints: English and Swedish. No pricing. Ready by Friday.
  • Approve before: Script and storyboard.

After the first run#

Comment on the draft the way you would with a colleague: “shorter intro”, “this claim needs a source”, “use the blue version of the logo”. The agents make the changes, and they remember your preferences for next time.

Ready to try it? Try it in the Content plugin.

guides