Work sample 13 / 14AI agent integration

Semantic search across job history, quotes and site notes, by role

How I'd approach plain-language search over years of job history for a multi-branch service group, with each person's branch and role applied before the search runs, and every answer linked to its source job.

Worked example on representative data.

Area: AI agent integration
Tools: ServiceM8 or Jobber · AI search
Typical scope: US$3,500–5,000
Timeline: About 6 weeks · 4 fixed milestones

01Context

An established service group with several branches and years of job history: quotes, invoices, job notes and site notes written by technicians and coordinators. Jobs are run in ServiceM8 or Jobber.

The systems in play

In the example the group wants staff to ask a question in plain language and get an answer with a link to the source job, while each person sees only what their role allows.

Table 1Who uses what

System	What it does for the business
ServiceM8 or Jobber	The source of jobs, quotes, notes and sites. It is read, never changed.
Search index	A copy of the text of each record, prepared so a question finds records by meaning, not only by exact words. It lives on infrastructure the group controls.
Access list	Who the staff are, their branch and their role. It decides what each person is allowed to search.
Search page	Where staff ask a question and see the answer, the matching records and a link to each source job.

02Problem

What the owner sees

Staff who cannot find what was agreed on a site two years ago
Prices quoted again from memory
Branch knowledge that leaves with the person
Fear that a search tool shows pricing or other branches to the wrong person

Keyword search misses a record that uses different words. A search that ignores permissions solves one problem and creates another.

Table 2Where the drift starts

Everyday situation	What goes wrong
Different words	A note says "plant room key with caretaker" and the search is for "access"
Same site, several spellings	The history is split across entries for one address
Edited quotes	Several versions exist and the search returns the wrong one
Photo-only notes	The useful detail is in a photo with no text
Pricing	A coordinator should find the job but not the margin or the price
Other branches	A coordinator should not see another branch’s customers

03Approach

Four steps, in this order. Each one ends with a result that is checked.

LookA read-only review of the records, how notes are written and who needs to find what. Nothing is changed.
Agree the access rulesWhich role sees which branch, and which fields, are written down and approved.
Build and connectRecords are prepared with their branch and role labels, and the filter is applied before any search runs.
CheckTest questions with known answers, a permission test for each role, and a log of wrong or empty answers.

Table 3Access rules agreed in writing (example settings)

Role	Branches	Pricing and margin	Customer contact details
Technician	Own branch, own jobs and site notes	Hidden	Hidden
Coordinator	Own branch	Hidden	Shown
Branch manager	Own branch	Shown	Shown
Owner or finance	All branches	Shown	Shown

04What the setup includes

What the setup includes, and why each piece is there. The detail of how it is configured is agreed in the scoping call.

Show the setup, layer by layer

Table 4The setup, layer by layer

Layer	What is set up and why
Read-only export	Jobs, quotes, invoices and notes are read on a schedule. The job system is never written to.
Record preparation	Each record is cut into readable pieces and labeled with its job, site, branch, date and version.
Access labels	Branch and role labels are attached to every piece. Price fields sit in a separate piece, labeled for managers only.
Filter before search	The person’s role is applied first, so a record they may not see is never a candidate for an answer.
Answer with sources	The answer is written only from the matching records, and each one links to its source job. If nothing matches, it says so.
Refresh	New and edited records are picked up daily. Deleted or archived jobs are removed.
Query log	Who asked, in which role, and which records were shown. It is kept for review.

How the data moves

Job record read
Prepared and labeled with branch and role
Question asked
Role filter applied
Search
Answer with links to source jobs
Question logged

05Edge cases

These are agreed with the operations manager and tested in the permission tests.

Table 5Edge cases and how each is handled

Situation	How it is handled
Duplicate sites	Addresses are normalized and grouped. Records for the same site are shown together, with a list of the merged spellings for a person to confirm.
Edited quote	The latest version is returned. Earlier versions are kept, dated and labeled, and are shown to managers only.
Photo-only note	Indexed by its job, caption and date. It appears on a "photo only" list, because the text in the photo is not read.
Price asked by a coordinator	The job is found. The answer says that pricing is held by managers.
Question about another branch	Nothing is found. The answer says nothing matched within the person’s access.
Person changes branch or role	Access is refreshed daily and checked again at the time of each question
Customer contact details	Removed from the search text. They are shown from the job only to roles that may see them.
Conflicting records	Both are shown with their dates. The answer does not choose between them.
Company with its own job system	Labeled with a company, and only searched by people with access to that company
Who asked what	Every question, role and result is in the query log, and changes to access rules are approved and dated

06Worked example

The tables below use representative data. They show the shape of the tests, not a client result. No accuracy figure is claimed.

Table 6Test questions with known answers (sample rows)

Question	Asked as	Expected	Result
What was agreed about access to the plant room at Elm Street?	North coordinator	Note on job J-3188, with a link	Pass
What did we quote for the roof drainage at Lakeview?	North coordinator	Job found, price hidden	Pass
What did we quote for the roof drainage at Lakeview?	North branch manager	Quote Q-5531 at US$12,400, version 3	Pass
Any notes on the Harbour Road site?	South coordinator	Nothing found within access	Pass
What does the note on job J-3190 say?	North technician	Listed as photo only, with the caption	Pass, noted limit

Table 7Permission test by role (sample rows)

Test	Technician	Coordinator	Branch manager	Owner or finance
Another branch’s notes	Blocked	Blocked	Blocked	Shown
Price on a quote	Blocked	Blocked	Shown	Shown
Customer phone number	Blocked	Shown	Shown	Shown
Earlier quote versions	Blocked	Blocked	Shown	Shown

Table 8Log of wrong or empty answers (sample rows)

Date	Question	Problem	Action
Week 1	Access code for the Cedar Street gate	Empty: the code was only in a photo	Added to the photo-only list
Week 2	Who serviced the boiler at Mill Lane in March	Wrong site: similar address	Address spellings grouped
Week 3	Insurance details for Park Avenue	Empty: not a job record	Out of scope, noted

07How the result is checked

Permissions are checked first, because they are the failure that matters most. Quality checks follow, with a log that keeps the weak spots visible.

Table 9Checks and pass conditions

Check	How	Pass condition
Permission test	Every role asks the same questions across branches and price fields	No result outside the role’s access
Known answers	A set of questions with answers agreed in advance	Each expected job is returned, or the miss is logged
Sources	Every answer is compared to the records it links to	Each statement is backed by a linked record
No match	Questions with no answer in the data	The answer says so and does not guess
Refresh	A record is edited, deleted and archived	The search reflects each change by the next day
After go-live	The query log is reviewed on a schedule	Wrong or empty answers are listed with an action

08Scope and milestones

A fixed scope agreed in writing before anything starts. Each milestone is paid when you sign off its deliverable.

Table 10Scope: what a project like this covers

Area	Included
Health Check	Review of the records, note-writing habits and who needs to find what, a 45-minute call, written findings and a fixed quote
Access rules	Roles, branches and field rules in writing, approved by the owner
Read-only connection	A scheduled read of jobs, quotes, invoices and notes
Search and answers	Search that applies the role filter first, with answers linked to source jobs
Test set	Known-answer questions and a permission test for each role
Query log	A log and a review routine for wrong or empty answers
Handover	Written SOPs, a recorded walkthrough and files you own, plus 14 days of fixes after go-live
Not included	Tax filing or payroll.
Also outside the scope	Hosting and running costs of the search service. Reading text inside photos. Changing permissions in the job system. Software subscriptions (billed to you by the vendors).

Table 11Fixed milestones

Milestone	Deliverable	Timing	Share
M1 Health Check and access rules	Findings, a fixed quote and the access rules in writing	Week 1	20%
M2 Read-only connection and preparation	Records read, labeled and refreshed daily	Weeks 2 to 3	30%
M3 Search and permissions	Answers with sources, permission tests pass for every role	Weeks 4 to 5	35%
M4 Test set and handover	Known-answer test set, query log, SOPs, walkthrough, 14 days of fixes	Week 6	15%

Typical scope for this kind of project: US$3,500–5,000

About 6 weeks across 4 fixed milestones. The Systems Health Check (US$300, fixed) comes first and confirms the scope.

Describe the process you want handled, and I'll say where I'd start.

Send a short note through the form on the home page. I will reply with where I would start, and whether the US$300 Systems Health Check is the right first step.

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