Make a brief
Turn your research into a written brief, as a page you and Bilby can edit, or as a Word or PowerPoint file to send on.
3 min read · Updated 31 Oct 2026
Before you begin
Three ways a brief can come out
| You want | Ask for | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| A brief to read, edit and share as a link | A brief, in your own words, or Create artifact | A page in the chat's Artifacts panel that you and Bilby can edit |
| A Word file | "as a Word document", or Create document | A .docx file in the answer, ready to download |
| Slides | "as a presentation", or Create presentation | A PowerPoint file in the answer, ready to download |
Step 1: Ask for the brief
Say what it's about, who it's for and how long it should be:
Write a two-page brief on Malaysia's new cross-border data transfer guidelines for our head of compliance. Cover what changes, the deadline, and what we should do first. Cite the government sources.
To choose the format up front, type @ in the question box and pick Create artifact, Create document or Create presentation, then type your request. The same choices are under Outputs on the home page. Formats and templates there has house styles for particular files, such as DOCX for a Word file. Add one and Bilby follows it.
Step 2: Open what Bilby made
When Bilby saves a brief, the answer shows a card with its name. Press Open and the brief opens in the Artifacts panel beside the chat.
Malaysia's cross-border data transfer guidelines
What changes. The final guidelines set out when personal data may be sent abroad, and on what terms.
The deadline. When existing transfers must follow the new terms, and what happens to those that don't.
What to do first. List every regular transfer abroad, and who receives it.
A Word or PowerPoint file appears in the answer as a file instead. Press it to preview it, then press Download and its name to save it.
Step 3: Change it
There are two ways, and you can mix them:
- Edit it yourself. In Preview, click into the text and type. The toolbar has bold, italic, headings and lists. Bilby saves as you go, and shows Saved.
- Ask Bilby. In the same chat, say what to change: "Make the first section shorter", "Add a table of deadlines", "Rewrite it for a minister". Bilby changes the brief in place, and the card says Artifact updated.
Code shows the brief's text as it's stored, for when you want to copy it exactly.
Step 4: Download or share it
Export downloads the brief as a PDF or as its own file. Publish gives it a link anyone can open, even without Bilby. See Download or share.
Where your briefs are kept
A brief stays with its chat. You can always open it again from the chat's Artifacts panel, and Library › Your files lists it under Generated. A brief made in a vault's chat is in the vault's Attachments & artifacts too, for everyone in the vault.
Tip
Briefs read better when Bilby knows its reader. Tell it once in Settings › Custom instructions, such as "I advise a ministry; briefs go to senior officers who want the decision first", and every brief follows it.
Try it in Bilby
Ask Bilby for a brief. We've typed one in for you.
Change the subject and the reader to your own before you press Send.