Multilingual Content Generation

Use case: Reach international audiences without creating separate briefs for each language.

What This Does

Creates native-language content in 6 languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Italian.

Key advantage: Content is written natively by ILLIXIS in each language — not translated. This produces natural phrasing and SEO-friendly copy that resonates with native speakers.

Cost impact: +25% per brief (not double) because the expensive brief creation happens only once. Content generation doubles.

Supported Languages

| Code | Language | Regional Convention |
|------|----------|---------------------|
| en | English | US English (default) |
| es | Spanish | Latin American Spanish |
| pt | Portuguese | Brazilian Portuguese |
| fr | French | Standard French |
| de | German | Standard German |
| it | Italian | Standard Italian |

How It Works

Architecture

```
One Brief → Two Content Pieces (EN + Secondary Language)
```

1. Brief created once (same SERP analysis, keywords, creative selections)
2. Content generated twice (ILLIXIS writes natively in each language)
3. Siblings linked (content pieces reference each other via sibling_content field)
4. Publish together (one click publishes both languages)

Language-Aware Generation

ILLIXIS applies language-specific rules for each target language:

• Spanish: "Write natively in Spanish. Use 'tú' form. Latin American conventions."
• Portuguese: "Write natively in Portuguese. Use 'você' form. Brazilian conventions."
• French: "Write natively in French. Use 'vous' form (formal)."
• German: "Write natively in German. Use 'Sie' form (formal)."
• Italian: "Write natively in Italian. Use 'Lei' form (formal)."

These rules ensure:

• Natural phrasing (not awkward translations)
• Culturally appropriate idioms
• SEO keywords adapted naturally (e.g., "swimwear trends" → "tendencias de trajes de baño")
• Brand names and technical terms unchanged

Setup

1. Enable Bilingual Mode

Location: Settings → Content Settings

1. Toggle "Enable bilingual content generation"
2. Select Secondary Language (default: Spanish)
3. Save settings

2. Connect CMS (Optional for Auto-Publishing)

If using Payload CMS for bilingual publishing:

Location: Settings → Integrations → Payload CMS

1. Enter Payload CMS URL (e.g., https://yoursite.com)
2. Enter Admin Email (for JWT authentication)
3. Enter Admin Password
4. Save connection

Payload CMS uses two separate collections for bilingual content:

• articles for English content
• articles-es for Spanish content (or articles-pt, etc.)

Creating Bilingual Content

From New Brief

When bilingual mode is enabled, content generation automatically creates both languages.

1. Create brief normally (keyword, trend, custom, etc.)
2. Generate content from brief
3. ILLIXIS generates two content pieces:

• English (primary)
• Secondary language (e.g., Spanish)

4. Content pieces are linked via sibling_content field

Time: Same brief creation time + 2x content generation time (~7-8 min total for both)

From Existing Content (One-Click Translation)

Regenerate missing sibling for content created before bilingual mode was enabled.

Location: Content Hub → View Content → "Generate [Language] Version" button

When available:

• Bilingual mode is enabled
• Content has no sibling yet
• Content was generated from a brief (not custom entry)

Process:

1. Click "Generate Spanish Version" (or other language)
2. ILLIXIS reuses the original brief and prompt
3. Generates native-language sibling content
4. Links siblings automatically
5. Copies image placeholders from original

Note: This is NOT translation — ILLIXIS writes natively in the target language using the same brief intelligence.

Viewing Bilingual Content

Content Hub List View

Content with bilingual siblings shows language badges:

• Single language: EN or ES badge
• Bilingual pair: EN | ES badge

Content Detail View

Language tabs appear at top when sibling exists:

```
[EN] [ES] ← Click to switch
```

• Tabs show title, content, and meta fields in selected language
• Edit independently (changes don't affect sibling)
• Quality grades are per-language
• Image placeholders sync between siblings (optional)

Publishing Bilingual Content

Payload CMS (Two-Collection Architecture)

When publishing content with a sibling to Payload CMS:

1. ILLIXIS detects sibling relationship
2. Calls push_bilingual_content() method
3. Publishes English to /blog/{slug}/
4. Publishes Spanish to /es/blog/{slug-es}/
5. Links siblings via siblingId field in both documents

Result: Both languages live on your site at different URLs with cross-language navigation.

Other CMS Platforms

WordPress, Shopify, Webflow currently publish one language at a time. Select language to publish before clicking Publish.

Keyword Bolding in Multilingual Content

ILLIXIS auto-bolds keywords and PAA answers in content. For bilingual content:

1. English keywords translated before bolding (e.g., "home loans" → "préstamos para vivienda")
2. Bolding logic runs on translated keywords in Spanish content
3. PAA answers translated before matching

Why this matters: English keywords won't match Spanish text. Translating keywords first ensures bolding works correctly.

Image Syncing Between Siblings

When adding images to one language version:

Prompt appears: "Image added. Sync to ES version?"

• Yes: Same image added to sibling at same position
• No: Image stays in current language only

Use case: Product images, charts, infographics — visual content that's language-agnostic.

When reverting to placeholder:

Prompt appears: "Placeholder restored. Also revert in ES version?"

SEO Considerations

Same Brief, Different Keywords

• English content targets English keywords
• Spanish content targets Spanish keywords (adapted naturally)
• SERP analysis from brief informs both versions
• Search intent remains the same

Internal Linking

Siblings are linked via:

• sibling_content foreign key in database
• siblingId field in Payload CMS documents
• Cross-language navigation links in frontend

SEO benefit: Signals to search engines that content is available in multiple languages (hreflang equivalent at CMS level).

Workflow Tips

Best Practices

1. Enable before generating content — Easier than regenerating siblings later
2. Use for evergreen content — Higher ROI on long-lasting articles
3. Test with one brief first — Verify language quality before scaling
4. Review both versions — ILLIXIS writes well, but native speakers catch nuances
5. Edit independently — Don't assume one-to-one translation; each version can diverge

When NOT to Use

• Highly localized content (US-specific regulations, local news)
• Content with untranslatable idioms or cultural references
• Time-sensitive content where speed matters more than multilingual reach

Quality Grading

Each language version receives its own quality grade:

• Substance: Depth and value (language-independent)
• Voice: Brand consistency (language-specific)
• Structure: H2/H3 hierarchy (language-specific)
• Clarity: Readability in target language
• Engagement: Hooks and CTAs (language-specific)
• SEO: Keyword placement in target language
• Visual: Formatting and scannability

Result: English content might score A-, Spanish content might score B+ (due to different keyword densities, phrasing, etc.)

Troubleshooting

"Bilingual mode not enabled" error

Cause: User clicked "Generate [Language] Version" but bilingual mode is off.

Fix: Settings → Content Settings → Enable bilingual mode → Save

Content generated in wrong language

Cause: Language instruction not applied or overridden by prompt.

Fix:

1. Check TenantSettings secondary_language field
2. Regenerate content

"Generate [Language] Version" button not appearing

Conditions required:

• Bilingual mode enabled
• Content has no sibling yet
• Content has a linked brief (custom-entered content can't be regenerated)

Fix: Verify all conditions are met. Custom content requires manual entry in second language.

Sibling link broken after publishing

Cause: Content published before bilingual linking was implemented.

Fix: Re-publish content to update the sibling links.

Related Features

• Content Generation — Core feature that multilingual extends
• Brief Creation — One brief powers multiple languages
• Payload CMS Connector — Bilingual publishing with siblingId linking
• Content Quality Grading — Per-language quality assessment
• Image Placeholders — Sync images between language siblings