In short: SerpDad drafts each section of an article only from items in its brief: checked claims, usable quotes and your own experience answers. Every sentence cites its source, and a sentence with no source blocks sign-off. SerpDad never publishes. It stages drafts for a person to review in your own system.
The rule: AI writes sentences, never facts
A draft is an article version written only from brief items. Each sentence has a type and a chip:
| Chip | Type | Source |
|---|---|---|
| F# | Fact | A ticked claim with a source |
| E# | Experience | A saved answer from your experience interview |
| Q# | Quote | A usable quote, cited word for word |
| (none) | Connective | A linking sentence that asserts nothing checkable |
If a section has too little material, SerpDad returns it with a list of what is missing. It never pads.
Draft versions never change. Any edit makes a new version.
Write an article from a brief
Open Write > Drafts to see articles on a board by stage. The stages are Brief approved, Drafting, Draft ready, Approved and Exported. The "What holds it" panel lists exactly what blocks the selected article.
- Start. Start the article from a Ready brief on the Drafts board.
- Prepare. Tick the claims you trust, add quotes, answer the experience interview (3 to 5 questions only a practitioner can answer), and set the writer, signer, byline, due date and a note.
- Draft. "Draft all sections" stays disabled until every section has material. Before drafting, you see the units and the estimated cost on your AI key.
- Fix flagged sentences. For each sentence you can redraft, verify, rewrite with no claim, remove, or revert to source.
- Run full verify. A larger AI model reads every sentence against its sources. The estimate shows first. Full verify also runs before sign-off.
- Sign off. A named person signs the exact version.
- Export or stage the signed article.
Sentence checks
SerpDad checks drafts in two layers.
| Layer | When | What it checks |
|---|---|---|
| Checks on save | Every save, no provider cost | Every number, percent, currency amount, date, proper noun, quoted string and URL must appear in that sentence's own cited items. Also banned phrases and wording too close to a source. |
| Full verify | On "Run full verify" and before sign-off | An AI reviewer on a larger model reads each sentence against its sources |
An unsourced sentence is shown in red with an "Unsourced" chip. Only unsourced sentences block sign-off. Other flags are advice.
Sign-off
Sign-off is a named person approving one exact draft version. A draft can be signed only when:
- It has zero unsourced sentences.
- Every section is drafted.
- A named person signs that exact version.
There is no approve-anyway. Any edit after signing removes the signature.
| Rule | Detail |
|---|---|
| Who can sign | Editor, Manager, Admin or Owner |
| Your own edit | You cannot sign a version you last edited |
| One-member workspace | The Owner signs their own work. The article and export say "self-signed (single-member workspace)". |
People who can sign get an email when a draft is ready for sign-off.
Export a signed article
- Markdown with a receipts appendix.
- HTML with Article schema, including the byline.
- Copy to the clipboard.
Every export ends with a provenance table: each sentence, its type, receipt, source and verified state. Export history records the version and signature each export shipped.
The outline approval path
A project can also go from plan to article with one approval.
- On the plan, select Review outlines.
- For each page, read the outline. Select Edit headings to change any heading, then Approve outline, or Skip this page.
- SerpDad writes the whole article from the pages the outline came from. It confirms every claim against those pages and removes sentences no page supports. Then it rewrites the text in your voice, formats it, places internal links, adds images and screenshots, and saves it to WordPress as a draft.
In this path, approving the outline is the person's approval of the article and of the run's estimate on your keys. There is no separate sign-off step. If the project has no WordPress connection, the article finishes ready to copy or download. If the run cannot start, for example because of the spend cap or a missing key, it waits and the article page says why.
Draft targets
Set draft targets per project in Workspace > Draft targets. SerpDad only ever creates drafts.
| Target | What SerpDad creates | What you connect |
|---|---|---|
| WordPress | A draft post, with internal links and meta description | Site address and an application password |
| Webflow | A draft CMS item | Site token and CMS collection |
| Shopify | A hidden blog article | Shop domain, Admin API token and blog |
| Google Docs | A Google Doc in your Drive, never shared | Your Google account, with access only to files SerpDad creates |
Writers, Editors, Managers, Admins and the Owner can stage signed articles. Someone with publish rights reviews and publishes the draft in your own system.
Voice and authors
- Voice (Workspace > Voice): a voice for the workspace or a project, built from samples you add as URLs or pasted text. A voice is ready once it has 3 approved samples.
- Voice pass: optional, on your own Spiral key. Turn it on with "Use the voice pass on new drafts". Facts and quotes are hidden from Spiral and restored exactly. A rewritten sentence that drifts from its sources goes back to its checked wording. A draft without a voice pass reads "Voice pending" and can still be signed and exported. The settings page shows Spiral's training policy.
- Authors (Workspace > Authors): each author has a name, role, bio, photo and profile link. The byline goes into exports and the HTML schema. An article uses the byline's own voice once it has 3 approved samples.
Fact library and receipts log
The Fact library (Write > Fact library) lists every claim across your briefs and articles, with its source, its last tick and where it is used.
| State | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Fresh | Ticked in the last 365 days |
| Stale | More than 365 days since the last tick |
| Unticked | Not yet checked |
| Source dead | The source page no longer loads |
Re-verify fetches the source again and shows the captured passage. Briefs citing a stale fact show a badge. The Receipts log (Write > Receipts log) lists the receipts behind your content.