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Editorial AI Workflow

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Goal: a safe, repeatable editorial workflow that uses AI to speed research and drafting—without sacrificing accuracy, brand voice or SEO.

Principles & Guardrails

  • Human-in-the-loop: AI speeds tasks, humans decide what is true and on-brand.
  • Source-first: log every source; never publish uncited facts or numbers.
  • Transparency: label AI-assisted steps in your internal docs and briefs.
  • Versioning: keep drafts in Docs/Notion with comments and change history.

The 9-Step Editorial AI Workflow

  1. Write the Content Brief
    Audience, intent, POV, success metric, target keyword, secondary keywords, internal links, and CTA. One sentence outcome: “After reading, the user should…”
  2. Research & Source Capture
    Collect 6–12 credible sources. Create a “Source Log” table: URL, title, author/org, date, key claim, confidence.
  3. Outline with AI (Constrained)
    Prompt AI to propose H2/H3 structure based on the brief and Source Log. Require a section on objections/limitations.
  4. Draft in Chunks
    Generate section-by-section with relevant sources and tone guide. Keep paragraphs short, add lists, and mark placeholders for visuals.
  5. Voice & Style Pass
    Unify tone, remove filler, add concrete examples and actions.
  6. Accuracy & Originality Pass
    Fact-check numbers/dates with links. Run an originality scan; rewrite derivative phrasing.
  7. SEO Polish
    Finalise title tag, meta, H2/H3s, internal links, descriptive alt text, lightweight WebP images; add FAQ/HowTo schema if useful.
  8. Pre-Publish QA
    Mobile preview, TOC check, accessibility (headings order, alt, contrast), performance (image sizes, lazy load).
  9. Measure & Iterate
    Track impressions, CTR, position, engaged time, conversions. Log updates and schedule a 60–90 day refresh.

Prompts You Can Reuse

Outline Prompt 
Act as a senior editor. Using the brief and Source Log, propose an H2/H3 outline that:
- answers the search intent,
- cites only from provided sources,
- includes limitations/risks,
- ends with a clear CTA.
Return only the outline.
Section Draft Prompt 
Write the section “{{H2}}”. Use these sources only: {{list}}.
Tone: practical, plain-English, South Africa context where relevant.
Add one concrete example and a 3–5 item checklist. 180–220 words.

Checklists

  • Before Draft: brief approved · keywords set · internal links chosen
  • Before Publish: accuracy pass · originality scan · alt text · schema · performance

Tip: Store this workflow as a one-page SOP and link it inside every content brief.

Related next: Research-to-Outline System · QA Checklist for AI Content