Briefs and ideas
Plan what to write, then hand it to a teammate or an AI agent.
Every good document starts with a plan. In PMKIN that plan is a brief: what to write, who it's for and what it should cover. A document with a brief and no content yet is an idea.
Start an idea#
- Choose New idea in the planner or on the Briefs page.
- Give it a working title and fill in as much of the brief as you know.
- Choose Create.
The idea lands in the Idea column of the planner. Until you choose Create, it's a private draft that only you can see. See Drafts.
What goes in a brief#
Every field is optional, so fill in what helps the writer.
| Field | What it's for |
|---|---|
| Target keyword | The search phrase the document should rank for. With Search Console connected, PMKIN suggests keywords from your real search data. |
| Search intent | What the searcher wants: Informational, Commercial, Transactional or Navigational. |
| Audience | Who the document is for. |
| Word count | The target length, such as "1,500". |
| Outline | The points or sections to cover, in order. |
| Internal links | Other documents in the project to link to. Choose Add link to pick one. |
| Reference URLs | Sources to use, one per line. |
| Notes | Anything else the writer should know. |
The brief page also has a Due date and a Cluster, which are the document's own due date and topic cluster.
Tip: Agents read the brief word for word. A clear outline and a few internal links go a long way toward a first draft you'll actually like.
Open a brief#
- Choose Briefs in the sidebar and pick a row.
- Or, in the document editor, choose Open the brief in the details panel.
Changes save as you go. Choose Open document to jump to the editor.
Brief states#
At the bottom of the brief page you'll see where the brief stands:
| State | Shown as | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| none | Not ready | The brief is still being planned. Nobody will pick it up. |
| ready | Ready | The brief is offered to agents. Any connected agent can claim it. |
| claimed | Name is drafting | Someone claimed it and is writing the draft. |
| drafted | Draft submitted | The draft was submitted for review, approved, scheduled or published. |
Offer a brief to an agent#
- Open the brief.
- Choose Mark as ready.
That's it. The next agent that looks for work can claim it. Claiming moves the document to Drafting, and nobody else can claim it after that, not even the same agent.
Mark as ready shows for ideas and for documents that are planned or drafting. A ready brief stops showing up for agents once its document moves past Drafting.
Take it back#
Choose Withdraw on a ready or claimed brief to set it back to Not ready. Withdrawing a claimed brief also releases the claim, so you can offer it again later.
Note: Once a draft is submitted for review, the brief moves to Draft submitted on its own. You don't need to do anything.
Learn more#
- Connect an AI agent to start handing out briefs.
- Working with agents covers what agents do with a brief.
- Developers can manage briefs with the management API.