Brief and guided onboarding
The brief is one living document about your brand, audience, voice and offers that your AI agent reads before it writes. A guided onboarding can write it for you in one sitting, and your first run is free.
Think of the brief as the briefing you would give a new head of marketing. You write it once instead of repeating it in every chat. Your agent reads it before it writes anything, and adds to it as it learns what works for you.
What is the brief?#
The brief is a structured document in Studio, under Brief in the menu. It has four sections:
| Section | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| Foundation | Fixed documents that apply to every channel: North Star, Business basics, Ideal Customer Profile, Competitors, Glossary, Tone of voice, Branding & assets, Boundaries, Tasks and Additional info. |
| Sources | Documents you create and name, each holding links the agent can draw on, with notes on how to use them. |
| Experience | Lessons about what works for your brand. Your agent fills this in as it learns from results and your edits. You can correct or delete any lesson. |
| Channel Preferences | One document per connected channel, saying how that account adjusts the Foundation. |
Boundaries is where you list what the agent must never say, claim or touch. Tasks covers how often you post, the content mix and how much the agent may publish without asking you.
Who can use the brief?#
- Paid plans: the brief is always open.
- Free plan: the brief opens with your first wallet top-up, of any amount. Before that, the Brief page explains what it does and shows a Top up to start the brief onboarding button.
See Credits and wallet for how topping up works.
How does the guided onboarding work?#
The guided onboarding is a short interview that writes your brief for you. It is offered on the Brief page to workspaces that have topped up. Paid plans open straight into the brief editor.
- In Studio, open Brief and choose Create your brief. Studio takes you to the onboarding on voholabs.com.
- Answer one question at a time. Say "skip" to any question you would rather not answer.
- While you answer, the onboarding reads your company website and the websites of competitors you name, so it can suggest answers instead of asking you everything.
- Attach a logo, style guide or brand document if you have one. PDF, Word, PowerPoint and image files are accepted.
- When every section is covered, the onboarding writes your brief and takes you back to the Brief page in Studio, where you can read and edit it.
The onboarding runs in the language your Studio is set to. Nothing is published along the way.
What does a repeat onboarding cost?#
Your first onboarding is free. After that, each new run costs credits, taken from your wallet when you confirm it. Studio shows the price before you start, and the current amount is on the prices page.
- Continuing a run that is still open is always free.
- Redo onboarding, on the Brief page once your brief exists, starts a new run. Studio warns you first: "Starting over replaces your previous answers and rewrites your brief."
- If a paid run is not finished, its credits go back to your wallet. A run left open for three hours is closed and refunded automatically.
Can I write the brief myself?#
Yes. On an empty Brief page, choose Write it myself instead to open the editor. Each document is a set of headed blocks you fill in, and Studio saves as you type. You can also mix the two: run the onboarding, then edit anything it wrote.
How do agents read and update the brief?#
A connected agent works with the brief through MCP. It reads the brief before it writes, and records what it learns afterwards.
| Tool | What the agent does with it |
|---|---|
briefListTool | Reads the whole brief. |
briefSaveTool | Writes or rewrites one document. |
briefDeleteTool | Deletes a document, optionally keeping its history. |
briefLearnTool | Adds or refines one lesson in Experience. |
briefAssetTool | Registers or removes a brand file in Branding & assets. |
briefHistory | Shows what changed in the brief since the agent last reviewed it. |
markLearned | Marks reviewed changes so they are not read twice. |
briefOnboardingStatus | Says whether the guided onboarding is available, open or finished, whether a new run is charged, and the link to start it in Studio. Not shown to paid plans. |
When your brief is empty and you ask your agent to set it up, it checks briefOnboardingStatus first and sends you to the Brief page. If you prefer, it can interview you in the chat and write the documents with briefSaveTool instead.
The brief is also on the public API, under /brief, so scripts and other agents can read and edit it with your API key.
What files can I add to the brief?#
Brand files, such as a logo, product shots or a short video, live in Branding & assets. Documents can be up to 25 MB and images up to 10 MB. An agent can register a file there with briefAssetTool once it has uploaded it.
Frequently asked questions
- Does the onboarding publish anything?
No. Your answers become your brief in Studio and nothing is posted. You can edit every part of the brief afterwards.
- Can my agent start the onboarding for me?
No. The onboarding is an interview you take part in, so it starts from the Brief page in Studio. If you ask your agent, it checks the onboarding status and gives you the link to that page.
- What happens if I close the onboarding halfway?
The Brief page shows "Your onboarding is in progress". Choose Continue onboarding to pick up where you left off. Continuing is free.
- Can I use the brief without connecting an agent?
Yes. You can read and edit it in Studio at any time. It only steers writing once an agent reads it, but it is still a useful single record of how your brand should sound.