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How to work with Kaiya

Tell Kaiya what you need to get done. Add the requirements, decisions and information Kaiya cannot find through research.

Your prompt is the request you send to Kaiya. Use ordinary language. Kaiya can choose how to tackle the work and ask for your judgement when needed.

You can start with a short request:

Find step-up candidates for a PE-backed CFO role. They must have previous experience in a PE-backed SaaS company.

Kaiya can use this request to identify likely step-up roles, find relevant companies and check candidate evidence. You do not need to design the searches, list every job-title variation or divide the work into batches.

The more Kaiya knows, from you and through research, the better the outcome.

See Example requests for searches, meetings, documents and other tasks. Adapt them to your work; you do not need special wording or a fixed template.

Say what you need from the result​

Name the decision or task the result must support. If the format matters, ask for it: a client email, a comparison table or a Word report.

Prepare a one-page briefing for tomorrow's Acme Robotics meeting. Use the notes
and research in this conversation. Include the expansion plans, evidence that
affects the COO brief and questions we need the client to answer.

Keep details that change the result. A word limit for a post or required columns for a spreadsheet can help. You can leave Kaiya to choose other details.

When you shorten or rewrite a document, say what it must preserve:

Shorten this client update. Keep the agreed actions, owners, dates and decisions
we still need. Remove repeated points and background the client already knows.

You do not need to repeat Kaiya's normal process or ask for a plan before a search. Give Kaiya the task and review the work.

Tell Kaiya what the client has decided​

Give Kaiya information that no research can uncover. This often includes:

  • The client's definition of an important term.
  • Essential requirements and acceptable compromises.
  • Off-limits companies.
  • Location or travel limits.
  • Client concerns that affect the search.
  • Decisions made in meetings or calls.

You do not need all of this before Kaiya starts. Give Kaiya what you know, then correct Kaiya's assumptions as the assignment develops.

Kaiya can research company ownership, sponsor history, sector, size and career evidence. Ask Kaiya to verify these facts instead of doing the research first yourself.

Make the source material clear​

When you paste notes into a message, put your request first and the notes under a separate heading. Name the files Kaiya should use if the conversation contains several versions.

Tell Kaiya when a new decision replaces an earlier one:

The client has changed the location requirement. Use Birmingham three days a
week instead of London. Keep the other requirements and the off-limits list.

If you attach an example document, explain what you want Kaiya to reuse, such as its headings or tone. Keep that separate from the facts for the new document.

Keep the right information in the right place​

Kaiya can use the current conversation, its attachments and earlier work in that conversation. Keep the brief, research, corrections and working notes for one assignment together.

Ask Kaiya to remember preferences or facts you want to use in later conversations. You can say, “Remember that I use British English in client documents.”

Kaiya saves lasting directions as Instructions and recalls relevant facts from Memories. You can ask Kaiya to show, change or forget saved information.

Kaiya does not remember every conversation. Keep the full assignment history in the assignment conversation or Invenias.

On desktop, you can also open Personalisation to view, edit or delete saved items. See Manage Instructions and Memories.

Do not repeat information unless it has changed or Kaiya has misunderstood it.

Acme Software is a UK PE-backed B2B software company. The board wants more acquisitions and an exit within three years. Acme needs a CFO who can support those plans and improve the finance function.

Use the short CFO request at the start of this guide. You can add the Acme Software brief when it is ready.

Kaiya can:

  • Decide which finance roles could lead to a first Group CFO appointment.
  • Identify equivalent and adjacent titles.
  • Draft a scorecard.
  • Map SaaS companies and related candidate pools.
  • Research current and former PE ownership.
  • Check whether the PE ownership period overlapped with each person's employment.
  • Search leading professional networking sites, Invenias and other online sources.
  • Compare each person with the brief.

Check Kaiya's interpretation of “step-up”. Correct that interpretation if it does not fit the mandate.

Add the client's definition​

For this client, step-up means a first Group CFO role for a Divisional CFO, Regional CFO, Finance Director or VP Finance. Buy-and-build experience is essential. The client will consider people from businesses with £50 million to £200 million revenue. Exclude the firms on the attached off-limits list. Candidates must live in or be able to commute to London.

This information tells Kaiya which roles count, which company sizes fit and which people to exclude. You can add these requirements before or after the first search.

Build on the strongest candidates​

The divisional CFOs are closest to what we need. Exclude advisory-heavy profiles. Prioritise people who led finance during a buy-and-build programme. Verify that they worked at the company while it was PE-backed. Find more candidates with that experience who meet the brief.

This tells Kaiya why the divisional CFOs are stronger and what to look for in further candidates. The earlier requirements still apply.

Check the work​

Before you use the list, check that Kaiya has shown:

  • Kaiya's definition of “step-up”.
  • Any assumptions that affect the list.
  • The scorecard used to compare candidates.
  • The roles and companies included in the search.
  • Evidence for each essential requirement.
  • Which statements are verified facts and which are inferences.
  • Gaps that still need research or your decision.

An inference is a conclusion drawn from the evidence, not a verified fact. Check names, dates, employment history and sources before you advise a client. You remain responsible for candidate suitability and client advice.

If a fact is missing, ask Kaiya to verify it or mark it as unconfirmed. A missing record does not prove that a candidate lacks the experience.

Correct the work without starting again​

Keep the same conversation while you refine one assignment. Kaiya can use the brief, earlier evidence and your corrections for the next request.

Tell Kaiya what worked or failed:

  • “These five are on target. Expand from the companies and roles they came from.”
  • “This person is a false positive because the role lacked group responsibility. Apply that distinction to the rest.”
  • “The M&A evidence is weak for these candidates. Verify it or mark it as unconfirmed.”
  • “Keep the strongest candidates in the list. Move anyone whose buy-and-build experience remains unconfirmed into a separate group for further checks.”

Start a new conversation when you move to another assignment or a different piece of work.

When Kaiya should ask you​

Kaiya should continue with clear, stated assumptions when a missing detail will not change the work. Kaiya should stop and ask for:

  • A client fact that no source contains.
  • A decision that belongs to you or the client.
  • A choice between two meanings that would produce different candidate pools.
  • Approval for an action such as an Invenias update.

Kaiya always shows an Invenias update plan before making the change. Review the proposed records, possible matches and changes before you approve the plan.

Deep Thinking and message formatting​

Kaiya can complete multi-step work with Deep Thinking off. For difficult comparisons, turn it on with the brain icon. Deep Thinking uses the same sources and access. Attach any missing material that you want Kaiya to use. See Use Deep Thinking.

On desktop, use Aa to add headings, lists or other formatting to a long message. On mobile, separate points with blank lines or hyphens. See Format messages.

Find help for your role​

Ask Kaiya to use this help site​

Kaiya can read these guides. Ask Kaiya for help in ordinary language:

I need to prepare a target company list for a new CFO search. Check the help site and guide me through it.

Kaiya will find the right guide and talk you through the task.