1. Check what the content is expected to represent
Start with the relationship between the content and reality. Is the piece intended to document something that exists, explain a confirmed offering or create an imagined scene? These uses need different boundaries. A fictional setting can allow creative freedom, while a representation of an actual product needs a much closer connection to its real appearance and characteristics.
Content that looks convincing still needs to be checked against what the brand actually offers.
Separate Creative Interpretation From Factual Accuracy
Write down which parts may be interpreted and which must remain faithful to the source. For written material, that means distinguishing tone and phrasing from factual statements. For visuals, distinguish atmosphere and composition from details that someone might reasonably treat as evidence of what they will receive.
A sound proposal makes this distinction explicit. The warning sign is a request for something merely “realistic” without stating what must be real. Realistic appearance alone does not establish accuracy. If the content could influence expectations about an actual offering, settle those boundaries before choosing the production method.
Separate exploration from customer-facing material
An internal concept can help you choose a direction without being suitable for publication. Label that intended use in the brief. If you later want to publish it, assess it again against the requirements for public content rather than assuming that selection as a concept makes it ready.
2. Inspect the source material before the prompt
A prompt cannot settle facts that the brand has not supplied. Before requesting content, gather the information that a creator would need regardless of the tool: accurate descriptions, existing visual material, language preferences and the intended use. Keep essential facts separate from inspiration so that an attractive reference does not become an unsupported claim.
Label References and Resolve Conflicting Sources
Good source material is selective and explainable. A small set of references with notes about what matters is more useful as a brief than an unexplained collection of images and text. Say whether a reference illustrates colour, framing, tone or detail. Also identify what should not carry across.
Watch for contradictions between the reference material and the requested result. If a description and an image disagree, resolve the discrepancy rather than allowing generation to choose between them. Missing information should stay an open question until someone with knowledge of the offering can answer it.
- Confirmed information
Supply the facts the content may state, including the correct names and descriptions relevant to the piece. - Creative references
Explain which qualities are useful and distinguish inspiration from material intended for direct reuse. - Boundaries
Identify details that must remain unchanged, claims that cannot be made and material that should not enter the generation process.
3. Compare AI generation with the alternatives
Choose the production method after you understand the assignment. AI generation, original photography, video, conventional design and direct writing are different options; a project does not need to use all of them. Ask which method gives you the appropriate degree of control over the information the audience will see.
Weigh Original, Generated and Combined Production
When the purpose is to show an actual place, object or activity, original photography or video provides a direct record to work from. That route requires access and preparation. When the purpose is an imagined visual direction, generated material may be worth exploring, provided nobody mistakes the result for documentation. Written content grounded in supplied facts may need straightforward writing and editing rather than an elaborate generation process.
A combined approach is another legitimate option, but its boundaries need attention. Altering the surroundings of a real subject can change the impression of the subject itself. Inspect the whole composition, not only the preserved element.
Compare the full work involved: preparation, production, selection, correction and adaptation. Do not judge effort solely by how quickly an initial output appears. If a proposed approach requires repeated corrections to essential details, reconsider the method or narrow the task before commissioning more variations.
4. Define acceptance criteria you can actually use
“On brand” is too broad to serve as the only acceptance criterion. Translate it into observable choices. For text, specify the tone, the level of detail, the terms that must be used accurately and the information the reader needs. For visuals, identify the subject, the required details and the relationship to existing brand material.
Test Samples and Separate Errors From Preferences
Inspect an initial sample against those criteria before extending the approach to a larger set. Good looks like a result whose strengths you can describe specifically and whose weaknesses you can correct without changing the whole premise. Approval based only on novelty leaves the remaining pieces without a dependable standard.
Treat factual defects differently from matters of taste. An incorrect statement or misrepresented feature needs correction even if the piece is visually appealing. A preference about colour or phrasing may permit several acceptable solutions. Keeping those categories separate makes feedback more useful and avoids spending attention on polish while a substantive error remains.
Test the material where people will encounter it
Assess content in its intended context, with the accompanying text and at a representative viewing size. A visual selected in isolation may become misleading beside a product description. A sentence that sounds natural on its own may repeat or contradict information elsewhere. Inspect the complete communication before accepting the individual asset.
5. Examine permissions, sensitive material and audience expectations
Before supplying files to an AI tool or an external creator, consider whether they are appropriate to share for that purpose. Possessing a photograph, document or piece of brand material does not by itself answer every question about its permitted use. Establish what may be supplied, how it may be used and whether any material needs to stay outside the process.
Resolve Permissions and Avoid Misleading Impressions
A workable project brief identifies unresolved permissions early. Warning signs include references with unclear origins, private information included without a reason, or a request to reproduce a recognisable person's appearance without addressing permission. Pause that part of the work until the relevant question is resolved. Where legal or contractual requirements are uncertain, obtain appropriate advice rather than treating the tool's ability to generate something as authorisation.
Also consider what the audience will infer. Could the content be understood as a record of a real event, a real person's endorsement or an exact depiction of an offering? Decide whether it needs clearer context, a different presentation or a different production method. Do not rely on a small explanatory note to compensate for a central image or statement that creates the wrong expectation.
6. Check what the commission includes
Before commissioning a larger body of content, make the deliverables concrete. Agree on what is being produced, which languages and destinations it must serve, and what constitutes a finished piece. A set of exploratory concepts and a set of publication-ready assets are different commissions, even if they begin with similar generation work.
Clarify Revisions, Deliverables and Remaining Responsibilities
Discuss how feedback and corrections will be handled. Separate changes to the original request from corrections needed to meet it. Ask what files will be supplied and what further adaptation, if any, will remain your responsibility. These are scope questions, not reasons to assume that every provider offers the same package.
A limited first commission can be a sensible way to assess suitability when the intended style or level of accuracy is uncertain. It still needs a representative task and clear acceptance criteria. A sample chosen only because it is easy does little to resolve the difficult part of the project.
The warning sign is an agreement expressed mainly as a quantity of outputs. Quantity leaves unanswered whether the material is accurate, usable in its destination and complete enough for your needs. Compare proposals by the work included and the responsibilities left with you, without assuming that AI generation guarantees a lower total cost.
7. Turn the checklist into a brief for discussion
Bring the decisions together in a short brief that another person can understand without reconstructing your thinking. State the intended use, the audience, the facts to preserve, the creative room available and the required deliverables. Attach the selected references with their explanatory notes. Keep unresolved questions visible rather than embedding guesses in the instructions.
Use the Brief to Discuss the Right Format
Before sending it, check whether the brief supports a clear decision about the production method. If the most important requirement is accurate documentation, say so. If the task is creative exploration, state where interpretation is welcome. If you have not yet chosen between generated and original material, ask for that comparison as part of the initial discussion rather than prescribing AI from the outset.
Adrian Godoy offers content creation using artificial intelligence tools, alongside photography, videography and editorial design. That makes a discussion of the appropriate format relevant, without assuming that every part of a communications project should use AI. The exact deliverables and production approach need to be agreed for the project.
Contact Adrian Godoy to discuss a communications, content creation or social media project. Share the intended use, your source material and the details that must remain accurate so the conversation can address a specific piece of work.
