TL;DR
AI Search lets you describe your ideal company in plain English instead of stacking manual filters.
ListKit's AI interprets your prompt and matches it against real company data.
Keep prompts short (6 to 9 words), specific, and written in your market's language.
Use ListKit's Custom GPT Prompt Builder to generate optimized prompts from any company URL.
When you'd use this / Why it matters
Use AI Search when you want to quickly generate a targeted company list without manually building out Keywords, Industry, and other filters one by one. A well-written prompt can unlock a larger, more relevant list faster than filter-stacking alone.
Step-by-step: Where to use AI Search
Open Companies (first icon in the left sidebar)
Open Filters
Select Context → AI Company Search
Type your prompt (at least 5 words, the box shows a word counter) and click Search
Looking for people rather than companies? The People page has AI People Search in the same place, and AI Job Titles Search under People filters.
What a good prompt looks like
Your prompt should tell the AI three things:
What type of company this is
Who they serve
What problem they solve
Example:
❌ "Marketing companies"
✅ "Marketing agencies helping dentists get more patients"
Core principles of a strong prompt
1. Be specific
Niche prompts outperform broad ones.
✅ "Software companies selling to dentists"
❌ "Software companies in the US"
2. Keep it short (6 to 9 words; the search needs at least 5)
Long prompts reduce accuracy.
✅ "Software helping eCommerce brands grow"
❌ "Software companies that help eCommerce stores increase revenue through automated marketing"
3. Match your target market's language
Use words companies actually use about themselves, such as "Software," "Marketing agency" or "Consulting firm," not internal jargon like "SaaS" or "Solutions provider."
4. Test multiple variations
Small wording changes can produce very different volumes. Run 3–5 variations before settling on one.
Example: "Marketing companies selling Facebook ads" found 2,400 companies, "Marketing agencies selling Facebook ads" found 2,800, and "Marketing agencies selling Meta ads" found 3,100. Keep a doc or spreadsheet of your winning prompts.
5. Follow the formula
Company Type + Service/Product + Target Market (+ Outcome)
Example: "Agencies helping contractors get more clients"
More examples: "Accounting firms that help roofers", "Software companies selling to vets", "Software helping eCommerce brands reduce cart abandonment".
6. Think like your buyer
Use outcome-based language: "get more leads," "book more appointments," "close more deals."
Use the Custom GPT Prompt Builder (recommended)
ListKit built a Custom GPT that takes a company website URL and generates 5 ready-to-use prompts.
Example input: Calendly.com
Example outputs:
"Software that helps businesses schedule meetings automatically"
"AI tools that streamline team scheduling"
"Platforms for automating client appointments"
Paste any of these directly into AI Company Search.
What NOT to include in your prompt
Don't add filters inside the prompt itself:
❌ Locations ("in the US")
❌ Funding stage ("Series A")
❌ Job titles ("CMOs")
❌ Company size ("10+ employees")
These already exist as separate filters. Prompting is for company identity, not attributes.
Expected outcome
You should now be able to:
Write high-performing AI prompts confidently
Generate larger, cleaner, more relevant company lists
Skip most manual keyword and industry filtering
Build repeatable outbound workflows faster
Troubleshooting / FAQs
My results feel too broad. What should I do?
Make your prompt more specific. Add who the company serves or what outcome they deliver.
Should I still use filters after prompting?
Yes. Layer Job Titles, Location, and other filters on top of your AI-generated list.
Where do I find the Custom GPT?
Use the ListKit Prompt Generator in ChatGPT. For a walkthrough, watch the video on how to prompt like a pro.
Can I find companies showing buying intent?
Yes, with AI Data Stream (Intent Data, US only). See: How do I use Intent Data (AI Data Stream) to find active buyers?