Create a topic in Lumen

Aug 19, 2026
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Procedure Steps

Article updated: June 26, 2026

Create a topic in Lumen

A topic is a saved search in Lumen. You specify a subject using keywords and Boolean operators, and define the scope of data you want to track and analyze over time. Topics draw on up to 13 months of historical data, so you can monitor brand mentions, competitor activity, and industry trends as they evolve.

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You can also set up automatic alerts to be notified of critical mentions as they happen, so you can respond quickly and protect your online reputation. See Create an alert for topic results for more information.

Note: You must have Lumen administrator permissions to create topics. If you or someone on your team requires administrator permissions, contact our Customer Support team for help.

Set up a new topic

To get started, use Quick Search to build and refine your search query, then save it as a topic. Your search query can contain up to 1000 characters. See About search query syntax for more information about supported search operators.

Go to Lumen, and then select Quick Search.
Enter your search term directly in the Quick Search field, and then press ENTER. Lumen displays a dynamic list of available operators as you type, and validates the syntax of your query as you go, so you can quickly identify and correct any errors.
(Optional) Select the AI Query builder to start your search, then select one of the following options and enter the relevant details when prompted.
- Brand reputation monitoring: Enter the brand name and any optional context.
- Product launch: Enter the brand and the product name or model you want to track.
- Campaign performance monitoring: Enter the campaign name or hashtag and any related brands or additional hashtags.
- Crisis monitoring: Enter the brand and a description of the incident, and provide relevant keywords.
- Generic query: Enter keywords and refine the query using industries, products, or regions.
When you're done, select Generate. You can refine the query as necessary.
On the Quick Search results page, review your results to check if your query is working the way you expect it, and to get a sense of the volume of mentions your query will return. If volume is too high or you're seeing irrelevant mentions in your results, edit your query to narrow down the results.
Tip: If you used the AI Query Builder to create your search, you can point to the search name to get the details of the query syntax, and make any necessary changes. You can change or add more specific keywords or exclude certain terms or data types from your search to refine your results.
When you’re satisfied with your search query, select Save to save it as a topic.
To change the name of your topic and add a description, select Settings.
On the Topics tab, locate your new topic in the list, then select Edit.
On the Topic page, enter a new name for the topic, and enter a topic description. Optionally, select a different color for the topic (this is the color used for topic results in Lumen widgets).
Select Save to update your topic.

Go to Listening, and then select Quick Search.
Enter your search term directly in the Quick Search field, and then press ENTER. Lumen displays a dynamic list of available operators as you type, and validates the syntax of your query as you go, so you can quickly identify and correct any errors.
(Optional) Select the AI Query Builder to start your search.
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In the AI Query Builder window, select one of the following options to generate a pre-defined search query and enter the relevant details when prompted. You can refine the query as necessary.
- Brand reputation monitoring: Enter the brand name and any optional context.
- Product launch: Enter the brand and the product name or model you want to track.
- Campaign performance monitoring: Enter the campaign name or hashtag and any related brands or additional hashtags.
- Crisis monitoring: Enter the brand and a description of the incident, and provide relevant keywords.
- Generic query: Enter keywords and refine the query using industries, products, or regions.
When you have entered your query details, select Generate.
On the Quick Search results page, review your results to check if your query is working the way you expect it, and to get a sense of the volume of mentions your query will return. If volume is too high or you're seeing irrelevant mentions in your results, edit your query to narrow down the results.
Tip: If you used the AI Query Builder to create your search, you can point to the search name to get the details of the query syntax, and make any necessary changes. You can change or add more specific keywords or exclude certain terms or data types from your search to refine your results.
When you’re satisfied y with your search query, select Save to save it as a topic.
To change the name of your topic and add a description, select Settings.
On the Topics tab, locate your new topic in the list, then select Edit.
On the Topic page, enter a new name for the topic, and enter a topic description. Optionally, select a different color for the topic (this is the color used for topic results in Lumen widgets).
Select Save to update your topic.

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Create a topic in Lumen

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