Intuitive Stack Content Strategy Operating Model
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It starts with a story. Their story, not yours.
Presented by
Lief Erickson
lief.erickson@intuitivestack.io
www.intuitivestack.io
February 24, 2026
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10 years as a technical writer |
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10 years as an information architect |
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B.A., Technical Communication & German Studies |
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M.A., Content Strategy Thesis: The Role of Taxonomy and Search in Content Usability |
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Information architecture lecturer |
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DITA-OT contributor |
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Intuitive Stack |
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Content strategy is my why |
Instructors, advisors, and colleagues
Rahel Bailie
Deane Barker
Roger Sheen
Noz Urbina
Margot Bloomstein
Hilary Marsh
Paula Land
Carrie Hane
Heinz Wittenbrink
Amber Swope
Content strategists
are the product owners
of user assistance content.
Business strategy
User experience
Information architecture
Metadata & taxonomy
Web designer
Content operations & automation
Analytics & metrics
Domain expertise
Communication theory
Technically conversant in systems
Risk & compliance
AI literacy
Oh, yeah, and you can write
oxytocin
cortisol
dopamine
The User's Journey by Donna Lichaw
The User's Journey by Donna Lichaw
The User's Journey by Donna Lichaw
Lucas Films
New Line Cinema
Village Road Show
Stories are character driven
Characters are goal driven
Goals are measurable
There’s no story without conflict
Where does your documentation fit?
The User's Journey by Donna Lichaw


It’s here to stay. Some might call it ‘automation.’

Goal is too broad.
“Let’s build an AI that answers all customer questions”
Assuming AI can fix bad content and bad data
“The AI will clean it up as it learns”
Full-text search + embeddings = “semantic”
“We don’t need taxonomies or ontologies. The LLM will find the connections automatically”
Vector databases = understanding
“Embedding the content captures its meaning, so we don’t need metadata or structure.”
Ignoring governance (until something goes wrong)
“We don’t want to slow things down with policies or review boards.”
Trying to corral chaos
“You're making me deal with questions I'd rather avoid.”
Study of 5,172 support agents at a Fortune 500 firm
+14% productivity overall (issues resolved/hour)
Biggest gains for newer or lower-performing agents: +34%
Strongest impact in moderately rare situations where agents lack experience but data exists
If top performers stop contributing new approaches
Brynjolfsson, E., The Quarterly Journal of Economics (May 2025)
Not as good as a true expert
Better than trainees or novices
GenAI often performs as well as or better than the best available human, even if it falls far short of elite expertise
GenAI is a proxy for a tutor, mentor, or laziness
Not automation, but access to top-performer judgment
What do you need your content to do?
www.intuitivestack.io