Hiring an AI agency is a big move. Whether you want to automate support, generate personalized content, or predict customer behavior, the right agency can transform your business.
But success doesn’t start with code.
It starts with clarity—and that means writing a brief your AI agency can actually understand.
A well-crafted brief bridges the gap between your business goals and the agency’s technical execution. It aligns teams, saves time, reduces confusion, and increases the chances your AI initiative will deliver ROI.
In this article, we’ll walk you through the key components of an effective AI brief—what to include, what to avoid, and how to write one that sets your agency (and your project) up for success.
Why a Great AI Brief Matters
Too often, companies assume the AI agency will “figure it out.”
But vague requests like “we need a chatbot” or “automate our marketing” leave too much room for interpretation. The result? Misaligned expectations, wasted sprints, and features that solve the wrong problem.
A great brief helps your agency:
- Understand your business and your audience
- Define what success looks like
- Identify the right technologies
- Avoid unnecessary scope creep
- Deliver on time and on budget
More than a task list, it’s a roadmap for partnership.
What Makes a Strong AI Agency Brief?
A good brief answers three big questions:
- What are we trying to achieve?
- Why is this important now?
- What constraints and context does the agency need to know?
Let’s break that down into specific sections.
Section 1: Project Overview (The “Why”)
This is your opening summary. It doesn’t need technical jargon—just a clear, concise description of:
- What your business does
- What challenge you’re trying to solve
- Why now is the right time to act
Example:
We’re a direct-to-consumer skincare brand experiencing rapid growth. Our customer service team is overwhelmed with repetitive questions. We want to explore AI-powered chat support to improve response times and scale support without hiring more agents.
Tip: Keep this section under 200 words. Make it understandable to someone outside your company.
Section 2: Goals and Objectives
This is the most critical section. Be specific about what you want the AI agency to accomplish—and how you’ll measure success.
Break it down into:
- Primary goal (e.g., reduce support ticket volume by 30%)
- Secondary goals (e.g., improve CSAT score, reduce resolution time)
- KPIs (key performance indicators) and how they’ll be tracked
Example:
Our primary goal is to automate at least 50% of customer support interactions within the first 6 months. We’ll measure success by:
- % of queries handled by AI
- CSAT scores for AI vs. human support
- Reduction in average handling time
Tip: Avoid vague goals like “improve efficiency” or “boost engagement.” Define what success actually looks like.
Section 3: Target Audience
AI systems are only as good as their understanding of your users.
Include:
- Who your customers or users are
- What they expect when interacting with your brand
- Their pain points, behaviors, and communication styles
- Languages or regions to consider
- Whether the users are internal (staff) or external (customers)
Example:
Our audience is primarily women aged 25–40 in Southeast Asia. They’re mobile-first, expect fast replies, and often use emojis or informal language. English and Bahasa Indonesia are our top languages.
Tip: If you have user personas, attach them to the brief.
Section 4: Functional Requirements
List what you need the AI to actually do. These aren’t technical specs yet—just core functionalities.
Break it down into must-haves and nice-to-haves.
Example:
Must-Haves:
- AI chatbot that can handle FAQs, product returns, and order tracking
- Integration with Shopify and Zendesk
- Support for English and Bahasa
Nice-to-Haves:
- Ability to escalate to human agents via WhatsApp
- Sentiment analysis for tone adjustment
- Voice assistant integration (future)
Tip: Prioritize ruthlessly. Too many “nice-to-haves” can dilute focus and drive up costs.
Section 5: Data Availability
AI depends on data. Let your agency know what you have—and what you don’t.
Include:
- Types of data (chat transcripts, purchase history, CRM logs)
- Volume (how much, how recent, how clean)
- Format (structured or unstructured)
- Where the data lives (CRM, cloud, spreadsheets?)
- Compliance constraints (GDPR, HIPAA, etc.)
Example:
We have 2 years of customer chat logs from Zendesk, product descriptions from Shopify, and email transcripts in Google Workspace. All in English. Data is clean but needs anonymization.
Tip: Be honest. Good agencies can help clean or augment data—but they need to know what they’re working with.
Section 6: Tech Stack and Integrations
The agency will likely need to integrate their solution with your tools. List your core platforms and tech environment.
Include:
- CRM
- CMS
- Marketing automation
- Analytics tools
- Customer support platforms
- Existing AI tools (if any)
Example:
- Shopify (e-commerce)
- Zendesk (support)
- Klaviyo (email)
- HubSpot (CRM)
- Google Analytics + Tag Manager
Tip: Include access limitations (e.g., API keys, sandbox availability, data sharing policies).
Section 7: Stakeholders and Decision Makers
Make it clear who’s involved from your side.
Include:
- Main point of contact (with role and contact info)
- Decision maker(s) for budget and scope
- Subject matter experts for content, UX, legal, etc.
- Any external partners or IT vendors they’ll work with
Example:
Project lead: Sarah Tan, CX Manager (sarah@company.com)
IT contact: Jason Lee, DevOps Lead
Final sign-off: Alex Ho, VP of Growth
Tip: Agencies work faster when they know exactly who to talk to—and who calls the shots.
Section 8: Timeline and Budget
Let the agency know your expectations—but be flexible if you’re still in early exploration.
Include:
- Key deadlines (e.g., MVP by Q3, full launch by Q4)
- Milestones or events tied to launch (e.g., campaign, product drop)
- Estimated or fixed budget range (e.g., $50k–$100k)
- Whether the scope includes post-launch support
Example:
We’d like to launch a chatbot MVP before Black Friday (Nov 29). Our initial budget is $60,000 with flexibility depending on scope.
Tip: Even a budget range helps the agency propose a realistic solution that matches your expectations.
Section 9: Supporting Materials
Attach or link to anything helpful:
- Brand guidelines
- Voice and tone docs
- UX/UI mockups or wireframes
- Previous AI attempts or research
- Relevant dashboards, spreadsheets, or survey results
Example:
- Brand voice guide (attached PDF)
- 2023 support ticket analysis (Google Sheet)
- Sample chat logs (CSV export from Zendesk)
Tip: Better inputs = better outputs. Give the agency context to move faster and smarter.
Section 10: Evaluation Criteria
Let the agency know how you’ll judge their proposal.
Are you optimizing for speed? Cost? UX quality? Scalability? Support?
Example:
We’ll evaluate proposals based on:
- Technical feasibility and integration
- Timeline and delivery milestones
- Cost breakdown and transparency
- Agency experience with multilingual AI
- Clarity of communication
Tip: This helps you attract serious, thoughtful proposals—and avoid apples-to-oranges comparisons later.
Final Brief Template (Summary)
Here’s a compact checklist to copy-paste or format into your own doc:
Section | Details to Include |
1. Overview | What you do, what problem you’re solving, why now |
2. Goals | Primary goal, secondary KPIs, success metrics |
3. Audience | Who the AI will interact with, tone, languages |
4. Requirements | Must-haves and nice-to-haves in functionality |
5. Data | Types, sources, cleanliness, compliance notes |
6. Tech Stack | Core platforms, current tools, integration notes |
7. Stakeholders | Key contacts, roles, decision-makers |
8. Timeline & Budget | Milestones, deadlines, ranges |
9. Materials | Docs, mockups, sample data, brand info |
10. Evaluation | How you’ll assess proposals |
Final Thoughts: A Clear Brief Is a Strategic Advantage
A strong brief isn’t just a formality. It’s a blueprint for AI success.
It aligns your team. It streamlines the agency’s work. And it lays the foundation for building tools that are not just smart—but strategic.
At TWOMC, we treat briefs as living documents. We’ll workshop them with you, challenge your assumptions, and co-create the solution that fits your vision and constraints.
So before you code anything—get aligned.
A great brief = a great outcome.
