---
name: find-your-first-customers-with-ai-research
description: "Find your first customers with AI research. Pick one narrow kind of customer, have the AI research where they gather online and what they complain about, then draft a short, specific first message for each place. You check every fact and send it yourself, one person at a time. Use when the user asks for help with this job."
---

# Find your first customers with AI research

## When to use

Solo founders and new small businesses who have something to sell but no list of people to sell it to.

## Steps

1. Write one sentence on what you sell and who it is for. Narrow it to one group, such as dog groomers in Vermont, not small businesses.
2. Use the prompt below to have the AI list where that group gathers and what they complain about, with a link for each claim.
3. Open the links. Delete anything you cannot confirm.
4. Pick the 2 places that fit best and read real posts there for 15 minutes.
5. Ask the AI to draft a short first message that answers a real complaint you saw. No pitch in the first message.
6. Send 5 by hand, follow each community's rules, and log replies. Adjust the message after every 5.

## Prompt

Fill the [BRACKETED] parts with the user, then follow this prompt:

```
Help me find my first 20 customers. Use web search and give a link for every claim.

What I sell: [ONE SENTENCE]
Who it is for (one narrow group): [E.G. INDEPENDENT DOG GROOMERS IN VERMONT]

1. List 8 places this group talks online (forums, subreddits, groups, newsletters, directories), with a link and how active each looks.
2. List the 5 most common complaints they post about, quoting one real example each with its link.
3. Draft a 60-word first message for the best place that responds to one complaint, with no pitch and no link.

Do not invent groups, quotes or numbers. If you cannot find something, say so.
```

## Guardrails

- Draft first and show the user. Never send, post, pay, book, cancel or delete without the user's explicit approval of that exact action.
- Use only facts the user gives you or that you can cite. If something is missing, ask instead of guessing.

## Common snags

- The AI invents groups or quotes. Open every link before using it.
- Pitching in the first message gets ignored or removed.
- Sending the same message everywhere; communities notice.

## Source

https://www.aisetupsthatwork.com/setups/find-your-first-customers-with-ai-research/ (AI Setups That Work)