How to Automate Client Research in 2 Minutes (Step-by-Step)

You can automate client research by creating an AI team member with a specific research analyst role, a standard brief template, and clear instructions on what to cover (company overview, recent news, key stakeholders, talking points). The setup takes about 5 minutes. After that, each client research brief takes about 2 minutes to generate and 5-10 minutes to review, compared to 1-2 hours of manual research.

Every week, I talk to agency owners and consultants who tell me the same thing: “I know meeting prep is important, but I just don’t have time.”

So they wing it. They scan the client’s LinkedIn profile on the way to the call. They skim the website during the first two minutes. They go in under-prepared and hope it doesn’t show.

Or worse, they spend 2 hours the night before, doing research they’ll barely use, because they’re anxious about looking unprepared.

There’s a middle ground. It takes 2 minutes. Here’s how.

What a Good Client Research Brief Includes

Before we automate anything, let’s define what “good research” actually looks like for a business meeting:

The essential sections:

1. Company snapshot: What they do, size, funding, key products/services
2. 2. Recent developments: News from the last 90 days, product launches, hires, funding
3. 3. Key stakeholders: Who you’re meeting, their role, their background, recent social posts
4. 4. Industry context: Market trends affecting their business
5. 5. Potential talking points: 3-5 specific conversation starters based on their situation

That’s it. Not a 20-page dossier. A focused, one-page brief that takes 3 minutes to read and makes you the most prepared person on the call.

Step-by-Step: Set Up Your Research AI

Step 1: Create the AI Team Member (2 minutes)

On LaunchLemonade (or your AI platform of choice), create a new team member with this setup:

Name: Research Analyst

Role description: You are a senior business research analyst. Your job is to create concise, actionable client research briefs before business meetings. You focus on what matters for a productive conversation, not exhaustive research. Every insight you include should help the reader have a better meeting.

Step 2: Set the Brief Template (2 minutes)

Give your AI this output template:

Client Research Brief: [Company Name]

Prepared for: [Meeting date and attendees]

Company Snapshot

• Founded: [Year]
• Size: [Employee count, if available]
• Industry: [Specific industry/niche]
• What they do: [1-2 sentence description]
• Key products/services: [Brief list]

Recent Developments (Last 90 Days)

• [Development 1 with date]
• [Development 2 with date]
• [Development 3 with date]

Key Stakeholders

[Name, Title]

• Background: [Brief career overview]
• Recent activity: [Recent LinkedIn post, article, or speaking engagement]
• Note: [Anything relevant to the conversation]

Industry Context

[2-3 sentences on market trends affecting this company]

Conversation Starters

1. [Specific, relevant question based on recent developments]
2. [Question related to their industry challenge]
3. [Question that shows you understand their business]

Potential Pain Points

• [Pain point 1 based on company size/stage/industry]
• [Pain point 2]
• [Pain point 3]

Step 3: Add Constraints (1 minute)

Rules:

• Keep the entire brief under 500 words
• Never fabricate information. If you can’t verify something, say “Needs verification”
• Lead with the most actionable insights
• Focus on what helps the reader have a better meeting, not on being comprehensive

Step 4: Test It

Type: “Research [Company Name] for my meeting on [date] with [person’s name].”

Review the output. Is it useful? Would you feel more prepared walking into that meeting? If the format needs tweaking, adjust the template.

Real Example: Before vs After

Manual research (90 minutes):

• Spent 20 min browsing their website
• Spent 15 min on LinkedIn stalking
• Spent 10 min searching news
• Spent 15 min reading a blog post I didn’t need
• Spent 30 min writing up notes
• Net useful output: about 200 words of actual briefing

AI research (2 minutes to generate, 5 minutes to review):

• Typed one sentence prompt
• Got a structured brief covering all 5 sections
• Reviewed for accuracy, added one personal note
• Net useful output: 400 words of structured, actionable briefing

The AI brief was more structured, more comprehensive, and took 83 minutes less of my time.

Pro Tips for Better AI Research

1. Stack your research. Don’t research one client at a time. Batch it. “Research these 5 companies for my meetings this week.” Do the review in one sitting.
2. Save your best briefs as examples. Upload them as training data. The AI learns what “good” looks like from your specific examples.
3. Combine with your CRM notes. Before the AI research, add any context you already have: “I met Sarah at a conference last year. She mentioned they were struggling with lead generation.” The AI incorporates this personal context into the brief.
4. Use the brief during the meeting. Keep it open on your laptop or tablet. Reference specific points: “I noticed you recently expanded into the European market. How’s that going?” People notice when you’ve done your homework.
5. Post-meeting, update the brief. After the call, add what you learned. Over time, you build a growing knowledge base for each client, and the AI can reference previous briefs for follow-up meetings

Frequently Asked Questions

How accurate is AI client research?

• AI client research is generally 85-95% accurate for publicly available information like company descriptions, team members, and recent news. It may occasionally include outdated information or miss very recent developments. Always spend 2-3 minutes reviewing the brief for accuracy before a meeting. This review step is faster than manual research and catches errors.

Can AI access private company information for research?

• No. AI research assistants work with publicly available information like company websites, news articles, press releases, public social media profiles, and industry reports. They cannot access private databases, paywalled content, or confidential information. For private company data, you’ll need to provide that context manually.

How often should I update my research AI’s template?

• Review your template after the first 5-10 briefs. Look for patterns: are there sections you always skip? Insights you always add manually? Adjust the template to match what you actually use. After that, review quarterly or whenever your meeting format changes.

Can I automate the entire research process, including delivery?

• Yes. With platforms like LaunchLemonade combined with workflow tools like Zapier or Make, you can trigger research briefs automatically. For example, when a new meeting appears on your calendar. The brief generates automatically and lands in your inbox or Slack before the meeting.

What’s the best AI model for client research?

• For research tasks, models that prioritise accuracy and source attribution perform best. Claude and GPT-4 are strong choices. On LaunchLemonade, the platform automatically selects the best model for research tasks, so you don’t need to choose manually.

 

2 minutes of setup. A lifetime of better-prepared meetings.

 

Create your Research Analyst AI: https://launchlemonade.app?utm_source=blog&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=automate-client-research-2-minutes

Cien Solon is the founder and CEO of LaunchLemonade, building AI team members for every business. Follow her on LinkedIn for daily insights on AI, delegation, and building in public.