Content gaps

A content gap is a question where AI answers pass you over and the fix is a page, not a pitch. It comes in two forms: a better source of your own that earns your brand the mention, or an asset of your own that takes a cited source's place.

sourcesignal shows content gaps in two places. The Gaps step in Content ranks your topics by where a page of your own has the most room. The Content gaps view in Opportunities lists the cited pages that call for content. Once such a page has been researched for outreach, it carries a recommended format and a next action you can hand to a writer or to PR.

Two kinds of content gap

The AI review classifies each cited page and suggests a play. Two of the plays are content gaps:

• Route A · Brand-mention content. The play is content of your own that earns your brand the mention. The matching opportunity type is "Content", which the "Class" column's hint explains as "Content: build a better source."
• Route B · PR/Authority asset. The play is an asset of your own that takes the cited source's place. The matching type is "PR/Authority", which the hint explains as "PR/Authority: replace it with an asset."

The "Class" column is off by default. Switch on "Opportunity type" under "Columns" to see it.

A page with neither play reads "No content route". On the Gaps step the same split shows up as the kind of page a topic asks for. An "Answer page" answers the prompts directly. A "Research piece" is an authority asset the engines can cite. The kind tells you which type of page the topic asks for.

The Gaps step

Open Content in the rail, then "Gaps". On your first visit Autopilot ranks your topics ("Ranking your topics."). This takes a moment. After that, Autopilot ranks them again after each data check.

What you see

A lead line says where you stand, such as "14 of 38 tracked prompts have no page on your site." Under it is one row per topic with room for a page, highest priority first.

Each row ends with an "Outline it" button. On a phone the rows become cards, with one legend above them that explains each column.

The topic window

Click a row to read the topic in full. The title bar shows the kind ("Answer page" or "Research piece") and the priority. The steps run Gap, Outline, Draft and Download. The window shows:

• A lead sentence, such as "You were named in 1 of 12 AI answers for these 7 prompts in the last 28 days, and you have no page on this topic."
• Three facts: "Engines cite" (how many pages, and the format they take most often), "Named instead" (the brands answers name where they skip you) and "Your nearest page".
• "This page would answer", with up to four of the topic's prompts.

"Why this topic" opens the evidence behind the topic:

• the prompts
• the sources engines cite, each marked "Easy to beat", "Could beat", "Hard to beat" or "Official source"
• the answers
• the brands named instead
• your nearest page
• questions people also ask
• "Gap notes from pages you pitched", where a note exists

What you can do

• Press "Outline it". Autopilot outlines a page from the evidence behind the topic. The piece opens under Outlines in the content plan (the Articles step). The content plan covers the outline, the draft and the download.
• Open "More actions" and choose "Not now" to set the topic aside for 30 days, or "Drop this topic" to take it out of the plan. Either way it waits under Not now in the content plan, and nothing is deleted. "Plan it again" or "Restore this topic" puts it back.
• In the same menu, choose "Open these sources in Opportunities" to see every page AI answers cite for these prompts.
• When Coverage reads "Site not read", the same menu also offers "Read your site".

Autopilot sets some topics aside on its own. Those wait under Not now in the content plan, with a band such as "No answers checked in the last 28 days." To outline one of them anyway, press "Plan it anyway".

The Content gaps view in Opportunities

How to open it

1. Open Opportunities.
2. In the toolbar, open the selector that reads "All opportunities" and choose "Content gaps (N)". The option appears only when some pages are on a content route.
3. Pick "Route A · Brand-mention content" or "Route B · PR/Authority asset". Each one shows its count. Your filters, search and sort stay as they were.
4. Click a page to open its detail panel.

The recommended asset and next action

In the detail panel's Overview tab, "Opportunity type & analysis" holds the AI's call on the page:

• "Opportunity type"
• "Recommended play"
• "Build light": green build, amber maybe, red don't, black can't be influenced
• the "AI estimate of PR standing"
• a "Content gap" summary, where the AI wrote one

"Why this classification?" opens the reasoning.

For a page on Route A or B, a second section follows. It is titled "Brand-mention content gap" or "PR / authority asset" and holds:

• Recommended format: the kind of asset to build.
• Next action: the concrete next step for this page.
• Source weaknesses: where the cited page falls short.
• Missing sections: what the cited page leaves out.
• Data opportunities: data your asset could add.

Once the topic has a reading in the content plan, the section also links to "Plan a page on this topic", which opens the topic window.

Until the detail exists, the section reads "No content-gap detail yet." The detail is written when the page is researched for outreach, which happens when you or your rules promote it.

You decide the play. Press "Edit" beside "Recommended play" or "Build light" to set it yourself. The row then reads "AI said: ... · you overrode", and "Revert" puts the AI's value back. The detail panel article covers the rest of the panel.

How to brief content or PR

1. In the Content gaps view, open a page and read its "Next action" and "Recommended format".
2. For a Route A page, give your writer the "Source weaknesses" and "Missing sections". Together they say what a better source has to cover.
3. For a Route B page, give your PR lead the "Recommended format" and the "Data opportunities". Together they say what the asset is and what it could hold.
4. To turn the gap into a page, press "Plan a page on this topic", then "Outline it". In the content plan, once the outline is ready, "Download outline" saves the brief, the outline and its sources as one Markdown file you can share.

Outreach templates can also insert a page's next action and asset format into a pitch. See Templates and AI instructions.

Limits

• Gaps, the topic window and the Content gaps view are open on every plan. "Outline it" and the steps after it are on Growth, Agency and Enterprise. On other plans the screen reads "Content plan outlines and drafts are on Growth, Agency and Enterprise.", and owners and admins see "Upgrade". See Plans and limits.
• Answers are counted over the last 28 complete days, across every engine.
• "Not now" sets a topic aside for 30 days.
• You can start up to 6 outlines per project in an hour.
• A topic holds one open piece at a time. Pressing "Outline it" again opens the existing piece with "This topic is already planned."
• The full site read is on Growth, Agency and Enterprise. On a plan without it, "Read your site" shows a lock.
• Without a full read, Autopilot reads up to 40 of your pages for free, about once a month. It starts with the three pages whose address looks closest to each topic, then fills the rest. With each ranking it reads up to 12 more of your listed pages, at most three for each topic that reads "No page" or "Partly covered".

Good to know

• Coverage reads your pages by meaning, not only by their words. A page that covers the topic in other words counts as your page on it, and a page that only shares a word with the topic does not. On Improvements such a pairing reads "Paired by meaning".
• "Site not read" means your site has not been read yet. Choose "Read your site" under "Set up". If the project has no website domain yet, add it in project settings first.
• A topic that reads "No page" when you do have one may simply not have had its page read yet. Autopilot reads the pages that look closest to such topics with each ranking, so the topic can move to "You have a page" or "Partly covered" on a later ranking.
• "Build light" is the AI's judgment, not a measured success rate.
• In Opportunities, "No gap detail" in the "Select" menu selects every page in the current view that is on Route A or B and has no detail yet.
• Spot, the in-app agent, can read Gaps and prepare an "Outline a page on <topic>" card. Nothing starts until you apply it, and the same limits apply. See Spot, the in-app agent.