Pillar & split check answers two questions about a cluster that numbers alone can’t: is this the right main article, and is the cluster really one topic — or several that readers look for separately?
Where to find it
- In Cluster Inspector → Improve this cluster, for every cluster of 6 or more articles.
- In Cluster Admin → Review cluster structure, for all of them at once. Check all first says how many AI calls it takes — saved checks are free, and only clusters never checked or whose articles changed cost a call — then runs one cluster at a time and can be stopped. Review opens a cluster at its check.
The main article
AI reads the cluster’s articles and says whether its pillar fits. If a better main article exists, it names it with a Make pillar button. If no article can act as the main page — every article covers a single place or item — it suggests an overview article worth writing, with Copy brief and Create draft. Write it as a guide that introduces the topic and links to every article, publish it and make it the pillar.
Splitting a broad cluster
When the articles fall into separate topics, the check suggests 2–4 smaller clusters inside the big one — each with a name, a reason and a pillar. A split always divides the articles one way only — by area, by style or by period, never a mix — and shows a second way as a switch when that works too. Articles that fit none stay where they are.
Move articles between the suggestions (an article can be in two), rename them and choose other pillars. The cluster’s link graph is coloured by suggestion, so you see how well each group is already linked. Create turns the ones you tick into custom clusters with their pillars chosen; the big cluster and your categories are not changed, and nothing is created until you click.
Groups of only 3–5 articles are often better left together under one pillar, with a section per group in the pillar article. You decide.
A saved check counts as up to date until articles join or leave the cluster. Why one main article matters: see the guide Pillar pages.