Ali Fakhar
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How to write an SEO content brief with AI

  • Level: Beginner
  • A few hours to set up

Ali Fakhar · Updated: Sept 2026

The short answer

Start from one query, collect the top-ranking pages and the questions people ask, and give a model that material with your audience and angle. Ask for a brief covering intent, outline, questions to answer and what your page adds. An editor checks it against the live results before writing starts.

On this page

At a glance

The marketing problem
Briefs that only list keywords produce pages that look like everything already ranking. A useful brief states the searcher’s intent, what the top results miss and which first-hand material the writer should use.
Who this is for
SEO leads, content managers and freelance writers.

What you need

Before you start

  • A target query chosen from real data (Search Console or a keyword tool)
  • A clear audience and the business reason for the page
  • Access to someone with first-hand expertise on the topic

What goes in

  • The top five to ten ranking pages, saved as text
  • “People also ask” questions and related searches
  • Your existing pages on the topic, for internal links
  • Notes from sales, support or an expert on what customers ask

How it works

  1. 01 · ToolCollect the search results
  2. 02 · AI stepAnalyse intent and gaps
  3. 03 · AI stepDraft the brief
  4. 04 · You decideEditor reviews the brief
  5. 05 · OutputHand the brief to the writer
  • Tool
  • AI step
  • You decide
  • Output

Step by step

  1. 01 Tool

    Collect the search results

    Search the query in a private window, save the top-ranking pages as text, and note the “People also ask” questions and related searches.

  2. 02 AI step

    Analyse intent and gaps

    Ask the model what the ranking pages have in common and, more usefully, what none of them does well.

    Prompt to copy

    Here are the top-ranking pages for “[query]”. Tell me: 1. The dominant search intent, with evidence from the pages 2. The subtopics every page covers 3. Which of these questions the pages answer poorly: [paste questions] 4. What is missing: first-hand examples, data, steps or opinions Use only the page text provided. Pages: [paste]

  3. 03 AI step

    Draft the brief

    Give the model your angle, so the brief is built around what your team knows and others do not.

    Prompt to copy

    Write a content brief for a page targeting “[query]” for [audience]. Our angle: [what we know that others do not]. Include: search intent in one sentence, a suggested title and meta description, an H2 and H3 outline, questions to answer, internal links to [our pages], sources to use, and a section called “What we add” listing first-hand material the writer must include.

  4. 04 You decide

    Editor reviews the brief

    Check the intent against the live results, cut sections that only copy competitors, and name the expert or data source the writer should use.

  5. 05 Output

    Hand the brief to the writer

    Share the approved brief and link it to the query and the page in your content plan.

Where a person decides

An editor confirms the intent and the angle against the live search results and approves the brief.

What to watch for

  • Copying the structure of ranking pages produces a page just like them; the brief must name what you add.
  • Competitors’ word counts are a weak target.
  • Search results change, so date every brief.

How to tell it is working

  • The writer can draft without asking what the page is for.
  • The brief names at least one source of first-hand information.
  • The published page is tracked for its target and related queries over the following months.

An illustrative example

Input

Illustrative: the query “how to choose a CRM for a small B2B team”, with the top eight results and their “People also ask” questions.

Output

A brief noting that every ranking page is a feature list, that none covers migration effort, and asking the writer to use your onboarding lead’s checklist as the page’s unique material.

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