# How to brief an AI team so the work comes back finished

> A good brief names the result, the reader, the sources, the limits, your decisions and what done means. A template you can copy, with a worked example.

By Kartike Bansal, Founder of SquadRoom. Published 2026-10-25. Guides. Source: https://squadroom.app/blog/how-to-brief-an-ai-team

## In short

- Write what you want back, not how to do it. The squad's Skills already hold how it works.
- Put every answer you already know in the brief. Each later question pauses the Task until you reply.
- Say a correction once as a rule, and your squad keeps it in Memory for every job after.

The fastest way to get finished work from an AI team is a brief that answers its questions before it asks them. Six parts do it: the result you want, who it is for, where to start, the limits, the decisions you want to make yourself, and what done looks like. A few lines each is enough.

Most work that comes back wrong was not done badly. It was asked for vaguely.

## What goes in a good brief?

| Part           | What to write                                     | Example                                                             |
| -------------- | ------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| The result     | What you want to hold at the end, in one sentence | "A 1,000-word article on why our clients switch from spreadsheets." |
| The reader     | Who it is for                                     | "Owners of design studios with 5 to 20 people."                     |
| The sources    | Which Docs to start from. Tag them with #         | "Start from #Client interviews and #Pricing notes."                 |
| The limits     | Length, tone and anything to leave out            | "UK spelling. No discounts or prices."                              |
| Your decisions | What it must ask you before deciding              | "Ask me before you name any client."                                |
| Done           | What you get, and where                           | "A draft in Docs I can edit."                                       |

The result line matters most. "Research our competitors" has no end. "A one-page table of our five closest competitors with price, main promise and one weakness each" does.

## A brief template you can copy

Paste this into Chat or into New Task on the Tasks board, then fill in the brackets.

```
[The result, in one sentence].
For: [who it is for].
Start from: [#Docs to read, and what you already know].
Limits: [length, tone, what to leave out].
Ask me before: [the decisions you want to make yourself].
Done when: [what I get, and where].
```

## A worked example

Here is the same job asked two ways.

**Vague:** "Write a blog post about spreadsheets."

The squad member has to guess the reader, the angle, the length and where the facts come from. It will either ask you four questions, which pauses the Task four times, or guess, which costs you a round of changes.

**Briefed:**

```
A 1,000-word article on why design studios switch from spreadsheets to our tool.
For: owners of design studios with 5 to 20 people.
Start from: #Client interviews and #Pricing notes. Our main promise is fewer missed deadlines.
Limits: UK spelling. No discounts or prices. Plain words, no jargon.
Ask me before: you name any client or quote anyone.
Done when: a draft in Docs I can edit.
```

Same job, no guessing. The one question left, naming a client, is the one you said you wanted to answer.

## Should you use Chat or a Task?

| You want                                           | Use                         | What happens                                                                     |
| -------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| A quick answer, a short edit or a lookup           | Chat with any squad member  | It answers in the reply, with no Task                                            |
| A bigger job, and help deciding who does it        | Chat with your lead         | It says who should do it, a title and what you will get, then waits for your yes |
| A bigger job in one squad member's area            | Chat with that squad member | It offers to take the job as its own Task and waits for your yes                 |
| To write the request yourself and set its priority | New Task on Tasks           | Your lead hands the Task to the right squad member                               |

A bigger job is anything that takes research or several steps, belongs in Docs, keeps running or needs another squad member: an article, a plan, a report, a campaign.

## Five habits that save a round of changes

1. **Say what you want back, not how to work.** The squad's Skills already hold how it works. Your brief should hold what only you know.
2. **Tag Docs with # instead of pasting them.** Your brief stays short, and the squad reads the Doc itself.
3. **Say what it may try and spend.** If the job means trying a product, name the products and the budget. Otherwise it sticks to public sources such as docs, pricing pages and published reviews.
4. **Put every answer you already know in the brief.** Each later question stops the Task in Blocked until you reply.
5. **Turn a repeated correction into a rule.** Say it once in Chat, such as "Always write in UK spelling." Your squad saves it to Memory and reads your rules before every job.

## What happens after you hand it off

- The squad member starts, and the Task moves to In Progress with a first comment of 35 words or fewer saying what it is making.
- A plan of up to 10 steps appears on the Task and ticks itself off as the work moves.
- If it needs you, the Task moves to Blocked and the question shows in Tickets and under Needs you.
- Docs it saves show on the Task and in Docs.
- When it finishes, the Task moves to Done with a Report, and you get a notification.

## Common questions

### How long can a Task request be?

Up to 15 lines and 2,400 characters in New Task. A counter under the box shows the lines as you type. If a brief needs more, put the detail in a Doc and tag it.

### Can I attach files to a Task?

Not from New Task. Upload files to Docs, then tag them with # in the request. In Chat you can attach files directly.

### What if the result is not what I meant?

Open the Task in Done, write exactly what to change and click Request changes. The same squad member takes it back and writes a new Report. Next time, use the template, because most misses trace back to a missing result line or a missing limit.

### Can I pick which squad member does a Task?

Not from New Task, where your lead routes it. To give a job to one squad member, ask in that squad member's own chat.