AI Content Generation in Stackby: Build a Dynamic Content Engine
Stackby transforms static content management into a powerful, automated content engine by integrating advanced AI capabilities directly into your relational database. This guide details Stackby’s flexible approach to AI and provides a step-by-step process for setting up a dynamic content creation workflow.
Why Stackby’s Approach is Different: Control and Context
Stackby's AI is built for both precision and scale, focusing on contextual relevance and user control.
Feature | Benefit for Content Generation |
Contextual Prompts | AI outputs are grounded in your data (e.g., referencing {Topic} and {Audience} columns), ensuring content is always on-brand and relevant. |
Bring Your Own AI | Connect directly to top-tier models like OpenAI, Google Gemini, or Anthropic using your personal API key, giving you access to the latest models without being locked into a single provider. |
Transparent Costs | AI usage is billed directly to your chosen provider, not Stackby. You maintain transparent, pay-as-you-go pricing for your content volume. |
How to Add AI for Content Creation in Your Stackby Workflow
Here is the step-by-step process to build an AI-powered content generation system using Stackby's no-code environment.
Step 1: Set Up Your Content Operations Database
Start with a foundational database structure within Stackby to organize your end-to-end content workflow.
Create a New Stack: Start a new "Stack" (database) from your Stackby dashboard.
Create Tables: Create two essential, linked tables to organize your work:
"Content Ideas": Stores initial concepts. Include columns for Topic, Target Keyword, Audience, and Status.
"Content Assets": Stores the final output. Include columns for Headline, Meta Description, Content Draft, and a Link to Content Ideas column.
Step 2: Add AI-Powered Columns (AI Field Agents)
Integrate intelligence directly into your workflow tables by adding the specialized AI column type.
Select Column Type: In the "Content Assets" table, click the + icon to add a new column.
Choose "AI" Field Agent: Select the AI column type from the column properties menu. This is Stackby's AI Field Agent, configured to perform the content task.
Name Your Column: Give the column a clear name reflecting the output, such as "AI Headline Options" or "AI Draft Summary."
Step 3: Connect Your AI Provider (Bring Your Own Key)
This control step links your Stackby workspace to your external AI service.
Find Your API Key: Obtain your unique API key from your preferred AI provider (e.g., OpenAI, Gemini, Anthropic).
Paste Key into Stackby: When configuring your new AI column, you will be prompted to paste your API key. Once linked, Stackby acts as the conduit, running your prompts against the provider, with usage and billing managed by that provider.
Step 4: Craft Your Custom AI Prompt
Instruct the AI precisely on what to generate, the format, and how to use the data in your record.
Define Your Prompt: In the AI column configuration, write your instruction to the AI model.
Use Column Variables: Reference existing column data directly in your prompt using brackets [ ] to ensure the AI's output is highly contextual.
Target Table | Output Column | Example Prompt |
Content Assets | AI Headline Options | "Write 5 H1 options for the topic [Link to Content Ideas.Topic]. Include the keyword '[Link to Content Ideas.Target Keyword]'. Max 60 chars. Output as a bulleted list." |
Content Assets | AI Draft Summary | "Summarize the brief in [Link to Content Ideas.Brief] in 1 sentence, less than 20 words, with a friendly tone." |
Content Assets | Social Blurb (X) | "Create a 280-character Twitter/X post about the topic [Link to Content Ideas.Topic] to target the [Link to Content Ideas.Audience]." |
To go beyond single-record generation, embed the AI into your workflow Automations.
Set Up the Trigger: Go to Automations and create a new one. Set the trigger to "When a record is updated" and select the Status column (e.g., when Status changes to 'Ready for AI').
Set the AI Action: Choose the "Run AI Field Agent" action. Select your "AI Headline Options" column to run the prompt and fill the column automatically.
Establish a Review View: Create a view named "Needs Editor Review" filtered by records where the Status is 'Ready for AI' but the Editor Approved? checkbox is empty. This ensures a human always vets the AI-generated content before it moves to the final stage.]
By using the AI Field Agent and Automations, you turn planning and metadata tasks into a dynamic, streamlined process, transforming your Stackby content workflow into an intelligent powerhouse.
