The Newsroom · guide · 2 November 2026
The content guide
How Newsroom tells an editor what to change on a page: four lenses (first-hand experience, facts and figures, sources and entities, what is new), each with evidence and specific edits. No score, and it never blocks publishing.
By Piers Butler
The content guide is how Newsroom tells an editor what to change on a page or a draft. It reads the page through four lenses (first-hand experience, facts and figures, sources and entities, and what is new compared with the pages already ranking) and, for each, says what it found, quotes or counts the evidence, and lists specific edits. It gives no score and no pass mark, and it never blocks publishing.
Why a guide and not a score?
A single number invites the wrong work. Editors learn to move the number rather than improve the page, and a number cannot say which sentence needs a source or where a first-hand detail would help. We also tested our earlier score against how often pages are cited in AI answers. Across 4,204 pages on 57 websites, pages that were cited sat in the middle of their own site's score range, no better than chance. What did lean towards citation was simpler: longer pages, more sections, headings phrased as questions, an answer before the first heading, and lists. The guide reports those things and leaves the judgement with the editor.
What does each lens look at?
| Lens | The question | How it is read |
|---|---|---|
| First-hand | Does this show the writer did or saw something? | A model reads the text and quotes the first-hand passages it finds |
| Facts and figures | Can a reader or an AI lift a precise fact? | Counted: figures with units, prices, dates, tables, and how many figures link to a source |
| Sources and entities | Is it clear who and what this is about, and who says so? | Counted: structured data, a named author with profile links, the organisation, and primary or official sources linked |
| What is new | Does it say something the ranking pages do not? | On request: a web search of what already ranks for the target keyword, then a list of what the page adds and what it misses |
The guide also reports the page's shape: words, sections, question headings, the words before the first section, lists and tables. Where the shape is thin, it says so in plain words.
Where does the guide appear?
On every draft Newsroom writes, on the Collate and Review screens, and on every page in the Performance audit of your existing site. When you regenerate a draft, its suggestions are passed back to the writer so the rewrite deals with them. The "what is new" lens uses a live web search, so it runs only when you ask for it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the content guide affect whether I can publish?
No. Publishing is decided by the AEO checks and your own publish settings. The guide is advice for the editor.
Why is a lens marked "not checked"?
Either there was too little readable text on the page (about 80 words is the minimum), the model call was unavailable, or, for "what is new", the comparison has not been run yet.