How do I get bernard to learn about my business?
Ask bernard to learn about your business, and it does the research for you. Say “Set up what bernard knows about my business.” bernard finds out what anyone can see about your business in public, checks it with you, and writes it up as the first part of your business brain. This first part is called your Public Context; see What is the Public Context, and why should I correct it?.
The prompt
“Set up what bernard knows about my business. My website is [your website address].”
Signed in, Get my prompt fills in your site for you. Otherwise press Copy and fill in the [bracketed] parts. First time? Connect your AI to bernard once: Use your own AI (opens in a new tab).
1. bernard checks who you are
bernard reads your website and comes back with who it thinks you are: your company name, the name you trade under, your company number (for example on Companies House), your website and the people who run the business. It says where it found each detail, and what it could not find.
Check it. Say yes, or fix what is wrong: “We trade as Tracy Clay, the company is Tracy Clay Ltd.” Nothing is researched and nothing is saved at this step. If bernard could not find your company name or your website, it asks you for them.
2. bernard does the research
When you confirm, bernard researches your business from public sources only: what you legally are, what you sell, who you compete with and where you show up online. It takes a few minutes, sometimes nearer half an hour. bernard checks on it every couple of minutes and tells you when it is done. If you leave, ask bernard later how the research went.
It writes a first draft of each part that is still missing. It never overwrites a part that already has text. For those parts it suggests changes instead, and you decide.
3. You correct what is wrong
When the research is done, bernard shows you what it wrote and a short list of places where the public sources disagree. For example: “Your About page says 12 years trading; Companies House says 9.” Tell bernard which is right.
Each correction works like any other change to your brain: bernard shows you the old words and the new words, and saves the change only when you say yes. See How do I correct something bernard has got wrong about my business?.
Your first correction is the one that matters most. It is the calibration gate of your Public Context: the point where the draft stops being a guess and becomes something you have checked.
Things to know
- Everything new is a draft until you check it. bernard never calls a draft checked.
- If bernard could not write a part, or someone changed a part while the research ran, it tells you which part and leaves it alone.
- bernard limits how often it researches each business, and how many businesses it researches each day. If it cannot start, it tells you when it can.
- To see everything in your brain afterwards, see How do I see everything bernard knows about my business?.
Bernard Brain has to be switched on for your business first. We switch it on when you email hello@bernardmoves.com.
Questions people ask
- Does bernard start researching before I say yes?
- No. First bernard shows you who it thinks your business is and where it found each detail. That step writes nothing. The research starts only after you confirm or correct it.
- Will it overwrite what is already in my brain?
- No. If a part already has text, bernard leaves it alone and suggests changes instead. A suggestion is saved only after you see the exact change and approve it.
- Can I run it again next week?
- Not straight away. bernard limits how often it researches each business. If you ask too soon, it tells you the date of the next possible run. Between runs, you can correct anything by telling bernard.
- What if the research stops part way?
- Ask bernard to carry on. It picks up the same run and keeps what it already wrote, so nothing is drafted twice.
- What if my team works on my brain in Sasha?
- Then bernard can show you what the research found, and your team makes corrections in Sasha itself.