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Writing and approving content

The content editor - saving versions, submitting for approval, approving, and why an author cannot approve their own work.

Updated

The content editor is where a single post is written, versioned, checked and approved. Every save creates a new version, and the approval path is draft, then in review, then approved.

An author can never approve their own content. That is enforced by the server, not just hidden in the interface.

BEFORE YOU START

  • A content item to open. Items come from a Create journey, an Autopilot plan or a campaign.
  • The "edit" permission to write, the "approve" permission to review, and the "generate" permission if you want the AI draft assistant.
  • An AI text provider on this deployment, only if you want to use the draft assistant. Everything else works without one.
  • Credits, only for a generation. Saving, submitting and approving cost nothing.

STEPS

  1. Open the item from its campaign, or go to /app/content/{content}.
  2. Edit the "Title" and "Body". These are only editable while the item is a draft or has had changes requested, and only if your role can edit.
  3. Optionally use the "AI draft assistant": pick a saved prompt or type a brief, then choose "Generate draft". The output is added below for you to review and edit; it is never saved for you.
  4. Choose "Save new version". The version history on the right grows by one.
  5. Choose "Submit for approval" when the draft is ready.
  6. Someone else with the "approve" permission opens it and chooses "Approve", or writes a note and chooses "Request changes".

WHAT YOU SHOULD SEE

The status badge moving from draft to in review to approved, a new entry in "Version history" for every save, and the approval history filling in as decisions are made. Brand Guard's panel sits alongside and reports what it found.

WHAT THIS WILL NOT DO

  • It does not publish or schedule. Approval is not publication.
  • It does not let you edit content that is in review or approved. Return it to draft first.
  • The mobile editor is smaller on purpose. It has the title, the body, submit, approve and request changes. It has no AI draft assistant, no Brand Guard panel, no version comparison, no location picker and no per-platform variants.
  • The mobile screen does not hide approve and request changes from an author. The server refuses it instead, with "Authors cannot approve or review their own content."

IF IT DOES NOT WORK

  • "Content in status 'in_review' cannot be edited; return it to draft first." means what it says.
  • "Authors cannot approve or review their own content." means somebody else has to review it.
  • "This content has no saved version to review yet." means save a version before submitting.
  • "Brand Guard blocks this content: ..." means the copy breaks a rule from your Brand Brain. Some blocks can be overridden by an approver with a recorded reason; some cannot, and the message says which.
  • "This content asserts N fact(s) that are not supported yet" means a claim in the copy is not backed by your Business DNA or a source.
  • "AI generation is not enabled in this environment yet." means no text provider is configured. Writing by hand is unaffected.
  • "Not enough credits for this generation." means top up or ask an administrator. Nothing was added to the draft.
  • A concurrent-edit conflict means someone else saved while you were writing. Reload and reapply your change.

COMMON QUESTIONS

Why does the page say I cannot edit when the item is scheduled or published?

That message is not quite right for those statuses and is known to be so. The editable statuses are draft and changes requested.

Where does Autopilot's content get reviewed?

Here. Autopilot deliberately adds no second approval path over the same rows.

Does generating a draft save anything?

No. It fills the editor. Nothing is stored until you choose "Save new version".

  • Writing posts with AI

    Generating a first draft from a brief, checking what it will cost first, and what the output is and is not.

  • Writing a Brand Brain

    How one brand's tone, audiences, banned phrases and claim rules are recorded, and which of them are actually enforced.

  • Using the Content Coach

    Nine named checks on a draft, five measured against a network's published policy and four judged by a model. Advice, never a gate.

  • Planning 30, 60 or 90 days with Autopilot

    How Autopilot lays out a run of content on your calendar, and the three separate runs that fill it in afterwards.