ADR: PRISM = the AI Sales Toolkit, AE Surface = Stage Cockpit

⚠️ PARTIALLY SUPERSEDED 2026-06-28 by 2026-06-28-prism-is-chowmes-prism-hermes-instance. STILL VALID: PRISM = "the AI Sales Toolkit"; the FY27 5-stage gated motion (PREP→SS1–SS4); Constructor.io as THE competitor; detect-search = Algospy. These are the coach's domain knowledge (feed W-C identity + W-E Discovery-OS). SUPERSEDED: the "stage cockpit" as a built web UI - PRISM is now a Hermes chat agent (Telegram + future SPA chat), not a bespoke cockpit app.

Date: 2026-06-27 Status: Partially superseded (2026-06-28) Trigger: Reading the primary source docs/Algolia/AE Sales Process - FY27 Field Guide.PDF (see workspace docs/workspace/ae-journey-research/05-algolia-ae-sales-process.md).

Context

The FY27 AE Field Guide defines Algolia's real sales motion as a 5-stage gated pipeline (PREP → SS1 → SS2 → SS3 → SS4), where each stage has hard exit gates and "never skip a stage." Critically, the guide already names PRISM's capabilities as sanctioned prep tools: "run a high-level search audit using the AI Sales Toolkit" and "check Algospy, is the C.io beacon present?" PRISM's audit engine = the AI Sales Toolkit; PRISM's detect-search = Algospy. The guide also names a cluster of internal tools (Value Prompter, MegGPT, Implementation Explorer, Slackbot, PIE Playbook) the AE stitches together by hand.

Decision

Two decisions, both founder-confirmed 2026-06-27:

1. PRISM absorbs the internal AE toolset. PRISM becomes THE "AI Sales Toolkit", one surface for: search audit + scoring, Algolia/C.io (Constructor.io) beacon detection (Algospy), customer-implementation matching (Implementation Explorer + Slackbot intel), competitive brief (C.io counter-narrative), and Value Prompter capture / "What We Heard." The hand-stitched tool cluster folds into PRISM.

2. The AE surface is organized around the deal STAGE (full stage cockpit). The UI mirrors PREP→SS1→SS2→SS3→SS4 with each stage's prep, framing scripts, and exit-gate checklist (green/amber/red) as the backbone, not a single static brief. The "60-second brief" is the PREP/SS1 view of this cockpit.

Rationale

• Adoption tailwind: the process already tells AEs to use these tools. PRISM being the named toolkit means zero new-habit cost, it's the path of least resistance the field guide endorses. (Stream 4 research: tools embedded in the existing workflow hit ~94% adoption vs 72% for bolt-ons; pull-based tools get abandoned.)
• The gates are the AE's real mental model. Organizing around stages + exit criteria matches how the AE actually runs a deal, which is what "functionally right" means.
• C.io is the competitive spine, assumed in-deal for ICP-sized prospects; PRISM already detects it and must arm the rebuttal table.

Alternatives Considered

Consequences

• Large scope. "Absorb all tools + full stage cockpit" is the biggest version of PRISM. Execution risk is real.
• Mitigation (recommended, not yet locked): build the full stage-cockpit architecture but fill it incrementally, ship PREP/SS1 first (PRISM's existing modules map ~1:1: audit, detection, competitor, customer-impl, financial/news/social), then layer SS2 (Value Prompter capture, Vision-to-Value, Anxiety Statement), SS3 (Competitive Pitch, PIE, Impl Plan), SS4 (ROI model, C.io counter-narrative, proposal). Avoids a long no-ship gap while honoring the full vision.
• PRISM must speak Algolia vocabulary natively: C.io, Value Prompter, Vision-to-Value, Anxiety Statement/Question, PIE, Enterprise Foundation, T-shirt sizing, the green/yellow/red flags.
• Requires clarifying what each internal tool actually does (Value Prompter schema, MegGPT, PIE Playbook) before absorbing, open question logged.
• Frontend v2-backend rewiring still prerequisite to any live cockpit with real data.