# AI content review gates checklist

- Source: https://simeoncreatives.com/resources/ai-content-review-gates
- Hub: SEO, GEO & Digital Marketing

Four pass, hold, or kill gates for any AI-assisted page: thin-page risk, facts verified, first-party block, owner signed. Print one per URL.

One sheet per URL, not per batch. If you are publishing 20 pages from one prompt, review a hand-picked sample and write the stop rule at the top.
Run the gates in order. If gate 1 fails, stop. Do not fact-check a page that should not exist.
Record pass, hold, or kill for each gate with initials and a date. A single “approved” box hides which gate failed.

```mermaid
flowchart LR
    T["Thin-page risk"] --> F["Facts verified"]
    F --> E["First-party block"]
    E --> O["Owner signed"]
    O --> P["Publish"]
```
*Cheap checks first. A page that fails the early gate never reaches the expensive one.*

## Page record

- [ ] Target URL and primary query
- [ ] Link to the completed brief (no brief, no review)
- [ ] Where AI was used: research, outline, draft, edit, metadata
- [ ] Single page or part of a batch? If a batch, how many pages and which one is this?

## Gate 1: Thin-page risk

| Test | Pass looks like | Result (pass / hold / kill) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Reader and moment | A named person and a decision they face this week |  |
| Deletion test | You can name who would miss the URL if it were gone |  |
| Sibling test | No live page already owns this intent |  |
| Volume test | Not one of many near-identical pages from one prompt |  |

- [ ] In one sentence: why does this URL exist beyond matching a keyword?
- [ ] What does it add that the current top results lack?
- [ ] Closest existing URL on our site and why this is not a duplicate

## Gate 2: Facts verified

Highlight every number, date, product name, price, limit, quote, and “Google says.” Each one needs a primary source link, an Observed label, or a cut.

| Claim | Source link or label | Date checked | Checked by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
|  |  |  |  |
|  |  |  |  |
|  |  |  |  |
|  |  |  |  |

- [ ] Google facts checked on Search Central. Vendor facts checked on current vendor docs
- [ ] Observed, Sourced, Framework, Hypothetical labels were written by a person who ran or read the thing
- [ ] Title, meta description, image alt text, and structured data reviewed
- [ ] First-use abbreviations spelled out in the body and in standalone FAQ answers
- [ ] Every internal and external link opens and says what the anchor text promises

## Gate 3: First-party block present

- [ ] Block type (screenshot, test, process, failure, permissioned client fact)
- [ ] Minimum detail recorded: date, conditions, what it does not prove
- [ ] A person confirmed this block was in the page before the last AI pass and survived it
- [ ] If none exists: hold the page or merge the useful parts into a page that has one

## Gate 4: Owner signed

- [ ] Owner (one name, gets the email when the page is wrong)
- [ ] Reviewer (not the person who prompted the model)
- [ ] Byline and author page are accurate
- [ ] Decision on a “how this was made” note for readers, and where it goes
- [ ] Review-by date on the calendar
- [ ] Page is linked from at least one live page and links to a cornerstone or sibling

## Outcome

- [ ] Final: pass, hold (with fix and date), or kill
- [ ] One lesson for the prompt, the brief, or the process

## Related guides

- [AI content ops: review gates before you publish](https://simeoncreatives.com/blog/ai-content-ops-review-gates)
- [Scaled content abuse: when AI-assisted pages cross Google’s line](https://simeoncreatives.com/blog/scaled-content-abuse-ai-assisted-pages)
- [SEO content brief: search intent and information gain](https://simeoncreatives.com/blog/seo-content-brief-search-intent-information-gain)
- [First-party evidence blocks for AI drafts](https://simeoncreatives.com/blog/first-party-evidence-blocks-for-ai-drafts)