# Expert Discovery with the Clodo API

Find subject-matter experts for customer research, industry interviews, advisory projects, and market diligence. Describe the experience your project needs, research potential participants, and prepare an invitation that explains why their background is relevant.

This workflow uses payments operations as an example: finding practitioners who have worked on clearing, settlement, and payment-network rules. You can adapt it to manufacturing, healthcare operations, energy, logistics, or another professional domain.

## 1. Define the expertise behind the research question

Start with what you want to learn, then translate it into first-hand experience. “Fintech experts” is broad. “Payments operations leaders who have implemented clearing and settlement processes” identifies work that could make someone useful to interview.

| Research goal | Useful persona |
|---|---|
| Understand payment-network operations | Practitioners with clearing, settlement, or scheme-rule implementation experience |
| Assess warehouse automation adoption | Operations leaders who have deployed robotics in distribution facilities |
| Learn about enterprise software procurement | Procurement or IT leaders who have evaluated and implemented relevant systems |

Specify geography or market context when it changes the expertise you need. Distinguish direct implementation experience from a general association with the industry.

Describe the exact intersection of experiences your research needs. For example: “Someone who has run payments operations at both a bank and a fintech, worked on a clearing-system migration, and presented an implementation case study at an industry conference.” You can ask for technology experience, previous roles, published work, or participation in a named event together. State which experiences are essential and ask for evidence supporting them.

## 2. Find a researched expert shortlist

Use [Deep Search](https://docs.clodo.ai/api-reference/endpoint/deep-search) for a focused professional query with a researched result set. Complete the [API setup](https://docs.clodo.ai/guides/use-cases), then send this JSON to `POST /api/public/v1/deep-search/` with your `x-api-key` header. Use your own public HTTPS webhook receiver.

```json
{
  "query": "Payments operations leaders in Singapore and Australia with experience implementing clearing and settlement processes or payment-network scheme rules. Prioritize hands-on implementation experience for an industry research interview.",
  "mode": "standard",
  "webhook_url": "https://your-app.example/webhooks/clodo"
}
```

Save the `id` from the accepted response. Receive `deep_search.completed`, or poll `GET /api/public/v1/deep-search/{job_id}/` until terminal. Review each person's role, company, work history, and `score`. Treat the score as a search-fit signal rather than a certification of expertise.

If the project needs a more detailed persona and supporting source evidence, choose [Agentic Search](https://docs.clodo.ai/api-reference/endpoint/agentic-search) instead. For a broad initial list of industry professionals, [People Search](https://docs.clodo.ai/api-reference/endpoint/people-search) may be sufficient. You do not need to run all three.

## 3. Use Agentic Search for a specific experience requirement

For enrolled accounts, Agentic Search can research criteria that need more explanation. For example, distinguish someone who helped implement scheme rules from someone who merely works at a payments company.

Send the following alternative request to `POST /api/public/v1/agentic-search/`:

```json
{
  "query": "Find payments practitioners in Singapore or Australia who have personally helped implement clearing and settlement processes or materially revise payment-network scheme rules. We want to interview people about implementation challenges. Prioritize first-hand operating experience and provide evidence of relevant work. Exclude sales-only roles.",
  "target_results": 15,
  "max_credits": 500,
  "webhook_url": "https://your-app.example/webhooks/clodo"
}
```

Inspect `fit_summary`, `proof_points`, and `evidence` in each returned person. Follow the cited sources as part of your review. Check `partial` and `completion_reason` when the job finishes, and record any unanswered expertise questions for screening.

## 4. Review experience and create your interview list

Use [Professional Profile Enrichment](https://docs.clodo.ai/api-reference/endpoint/professional-profile) when you need structured work history for a selected person. Send their `professional_url` to `POST /api/public/v1/enrich/professional-profile/` and inspect the returned positions and dates when available.

In your own research database, record the question each person could help answer, the supporting experience, and what still needs confirmation. Compare expertise with the project requirements rather than assuming a senior title makes someone the best interviewee.

Prepare a short screening question, such as: “Have you personally worked on implementing settlement operations, and which parts of that process can you discuss from experience?” Search identifies potential participants; the screening conversation confirms fit and willingness to participate.

## 5. Invite selected experts to a conversation

Resolve contact details with [Email Enrichment](https://docs.clodo.ai/api-reference/endpoint/email-enrichment) when needed. A resolved email does not establish availability or agreement to consult. Connect a [sending account](https://docs.clodo.ai/api-reference/endpoint/sending-accounts), then create a reviewed invitation through `POST /api/public/v1/emails/`.

Use actual recipient details in place of this illustrative payload:

```json
{
  "to": {
    "email": "sam@payments.example",
    "first_name": "Sam",
    "context": "Payments operations practitioner whose professional background is relevant to our clearing and settlement research."
  },
  "instructions": "Write an invitation to a 30-minute industry research interview about clearing and settlement implementation. Explain why the recipient's professional background is relevant. Ask whether they have first-hand experience and are open to a conversation. Do not invent compensation, prior contact, or credentials.",
  "review": "required"
}
```

Poll the returned email resource until the draft is ready, review the wording, and approve it separately to queue sending. Use the returned reply state to update your own participant tracker. Scheduling an interview and managing an advisory engagement happen in your application or existing tools.

## Expert discovery questions

### How do I find subject-matter experts with an API?

Describe the professional experience needed to answer your research question. Use Deep Search for a focused shortlist or Agentic Search for a detailed persona with supporting evidence. Review backgrounds and confirm expertise in a screening conversation.

### Can I find experts for customer discovery or market diligence?

Yes. Search for practitioners with relevant operating experience, then review how their background relates to the research topic. The same workflow can identify potential interviewees, advisors, speakers, and industry participants.

### Does Clodo book interviews or provide an expert network?

These API endpoints discover people, enrich profiles and contact details, and draft outreach. They do not book interviews, establish consulting terms, or guarantee that a person will participate.

## Related workflows

- [Recruiting & Candidate Sourcing](https://docs.clodo.ai/guides/recruiting-candidate-sourcing): adapt experience-based discovery to an open role.
- [GTM Lead Generation](https://docs.clodo.ai/guides/gtm-lead-generation): find and qualify potential buyers.
- [Credits & Pricing](https://docs.clodo.ai/guides/credits-and-pricing): compare fixed search modes with an Agentic Search credit cap.