Topics

Topics are the keywords and subjects that tell Hot Metal’s Content Scout what to search for. Each publication has its own set of topics, and the scout uses them to find relevant news, trends, and inspiration that can become blog posts.

How topics work

When you add a topic to your publication, you’re giving the Content Scout a clear signal about what kind of content to find. Each topic has:

• Name — The subject area (e.g., “AI in Software Engineering”, “Climate Policy”, “Indie Game Development”).
• Description (optional) — Additional guidance that helps the scout focus. For example: “Focus on practical applications of LLMs in code review, testing, and developer tooling rather than theoretical AI research.”
• Priority — How much weight the scout gives to this topic when searching for ideas.

The description is especially useful when a topic name is broad. It tells the scout which angle or subtopics matter most to you.

Adding a topic

1. Open your publication and go to the Settings page.
2. Scroll to the Topics section and click Add Topic.
3. Enter a name and optional description.
4. Select a priority level.
5. Click Create.

The new topic appears in your topic list immediately. The Content Scout will start using it on its next scheduled run.

Editing a topic

Click on any topic in the list to open the edit dialog. You can change the name, description, and priority. Click Update to save your changes.

Priority levels

Each topic has a priority that influences how the Content Scout ranks and selects ideas:

Priority	Meaning
Normal	Standard weight. The scout treats this topic equally with other Normal topics.
High	The scout gives this topic more attention and is more likely to surface ideas related to it.
Urgent	Top priority. The scout actively prioritizes this topic above all others. Use this sparingly for time-sensitive or critical subjects.

Priority badges appear next to each topic in the list so you can see the weighting at a glance.

Activating and deactivating topics

Each topic has a toggle switch in the topic list. Deactivating a topic tells the Content Scout to temporarily stop searching for ideas related to it, without deleting the topic entirely. This is useful when you want to pause coverage of a subject but plan to come back to it later.

Click the toggle to switch a topic between active and inactive. Inactive topics appear dimmed in the list.

Deleting a topic

Click the trash icon next to a topic to delete it. You’ll be asked to confirm before the topic is removed. Deleting a topic is permanent and cannot be undone.

Tier limits

The number of topics you can add to a single publication depends on your subscription tier:

Tier	Topics per publication
Creator	3
Growth	Unlimited
Enterprise	Unlimited

If you’ve reached your topic limit, you’ll see a message letting you know. You can upgrade your plan to add more topics, or remove an existing topic to make room.