The checking order
Work through it in order — the list starts with the most common cause, and with the least work:
Do you have an approved brand brief?
The Studio will not start a run without a brief, and the dashboard asks for this first too. Open the Brief page and finish it. This is by far the most common cause.
Do you have enough AI credits?
Your balance is on the Billing page. The estimate before a run shows how much is needed. If it is not enough: pick fewer topics, or top up.
Is a run already going on this brand?
One run at a time per brand, so the same thing is not produced twice. The interface shows when something is running, and who started it — in a team this is often a colleague's run.
Did one item stall, or the whole run?
The Studio shows it item by item. If the run is partly successful, the other content is finished and only the stalled item needs retrying.
Try once more
After a temporary external fault the second attempt often succeeds. If it stops in the same place a third time, stop retrying — tell us, with the time of the run.
Credits and failed operations
- A failed step consumes no credits.
- In a partly successful run, the credits for the finished items have been used — which is correct, since that content exists.
- If it looks as though credits were spent on something that was not produced, tell us with the time of the run and the brand's name.
If it finished, but it is not good
That is not a fault but a content question — and it has a different remedy. If the content is generic, templated or does not sound like you, it is almost always down to the input rather than the generation: see How an article is made and Readiness. Regenerating with the same input gives the same kind of result, and costs credits.
How long is it normal for a generation to run?
Typically a few minutes. A large run, many images, or slower response times at the AI providers can make it longer. If the state has not changed after half an hour, it is worth telling us.
What happens if two of us start a run at the same time?
The second does not start, and the interface says a run is already going. This is deliberate protection against duplicate content.
Are finished items lost if I retry the run?
No. Finished content stays; the retry applies to the stalled item.
Why does it say I have no brief when I filled one in?
Filling it in is not the same as approving it. The brief has to be approved for the Studio to use it — see Filling in the brand brief.