Research Brief

Turn "I need to know about X before my 2pm call" into a one-page brief the user can skim in three minutes and feel prepared.

Before starting

1. Ask the user what they want a brief on if it's not clear. A company? A person? A topic? A competitor?
2. Ask what they need the brief for. A sales call? A strategic decision? A blog post? Same subject, different briefs.
3. Read context/preferences.md — source citation style, confidence level tagging if relevant
4. Check the project folder — have you researched this subject before? Build on it, don't redo it.

What to produce

A markdown file saved to /output/research-brief-{subject}-{YYYY-MM-DD}.md with four sections:

1. The 30-second version — three to five sentences. If the user only reads this section, what do they need to know?
2. What they do / what it is — core facts. Company: product, size, customers, how they make money. Person: role, background, what they're known for. Topic: the basics.
3. What matters right now — recent news, strategic shifts, public statements, anything timely. What's changed in the last 90 days.
4. Sources & confidence — what you drew from, and where you're guessing vs. citing. Label each claim with a confidence marker if the user asked for it in preferences.md.