# How RootSmith works

> The core records in RootSmith, such as teams, sites, brand profiles, page types, questions, ideas, and content, and how a page moves from idea to published.

Source: https://docs.rootsmith.io/docs/how-it-works.md

## Teams and roles

Everything belongs to a team. Each person has a role in the team: **Owner**,
**Admin**, or **Member**. Everyone can plan, write, review, and publish
content. Owners and admins also manage sites, publishing settings, members,
and billing. A connected agent has the same access as the person who
connected it.

## Sites

A site is one website on one primary domain. Each site has its own:

- **Brand profile**: business facts, audience and purpose, and writing
  guidance. RootSmith drafts it from your site, and you review it.
- **Competitors**: companies to compare against in content and AI answers.
- **Page types**: kinds of pages, such as Blog article, each with a fixed URL
  prefix, a purpose, an outline, and research guidance.
- **Publishing settings**: how approved pages reach your site, the approval
  mode, and the default schedule.
- **Integrations**: Google Search Console.

## Questions and AI visibility

A tracked question is something your buyers ask AI assistants. RootSmith
checks the answers from AI engines every week and records which brands and
sources they name. The gaps feed new ideas.

## From idea to published page

Ideas and pages are the same record at different stages:

| Status        | Meaning                                                 |
| ------------- | ------------------------------------------------------- |
| `opportunity` | A new idea waiting for review.                          |
| `queued`      | An approved idea waiting to be written.                 |
| `writing`     | RootSmith is writing the draft.                         |
| `dismissed`   | A removed idea. You can restore it.                     |
| `draft`       | A draft you can edit.                                   |
| `in_review`   | A draft waiting for approval.                           |
| `approved`    | Approved and ready to publish.                          |
| `scheduled`   | Set to publish at a chosen time.                        |
| `retired`     | A page that was merged into another page and redirects. |

Each save creates a new version. Publishing makes one approved version
public. Editing a published page creates a new draft and leaves the live
version in place until you publish again.

A page counts as live when RootSmith finds that exact version on your site.
The SDK and MDX export add a hidden marker for this check. See
[version markers](https://docs.rootsmith.io/docs/publishing/webhooks.md#show-the-version-marker).

## Approval

In **Publishing**, the approval mode is **Approval required** or
**Automatic**. With **Automatic**, drafts from automations that pass their
checks are approved and published with the default schedule.

## Outcomes

For each published or refreshed page, RootSmith records AI citations and
Google clicks before publication and at 14, 30, 60, and 90 days.