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PRODUCT CASE STUDY · AI PRODUCT / B2B MARKETPLACE

Designing an AI matching systemfor a B2B marketplace.

I researched the marketplace's data and workflows to find where value was being lost.

MatchAgent interface with prioritized opportunities and a compatibility analysis

Interface shown in Spanish — built for a Mexican marketplace.

The challenge wasn't designing a feature. It was finding which problem deserved solving.

The hackathon asked for an AI-native initiative. Instead of starting from a solution, I used my access to operational data to find where the system was losing value.

  1. OPEN BRIEF

    Propose an AI-⁠native initiative.

    The starting point was broad, with no concrete problem and no defined solution.

    Exploring possibilities for an AI-native initiative
  2. PRODUCT QUESTION

    Where is the system losing value?

    Before thinking about technology, I had to find friction that was observable and relevant.

    Analyzing friction inside the system
  3. DECISION

    Research how the marketplace actually behaves.

    The search focused on leads, visits, inventory, matching, and operations.

    Researching the marketplace's operational behavior
  4. DIRECTION

    Turn operational signals into an opportunity.

    The research would show whether a valuable product intervention existed.

    Operational signals turning into a product opportunity

There were opportunities in the system that almost never reached a visit.

The drop wasn't at the start of the journey. It was at the end.

Demand existed, criteria were complete, and inventory was available. The loss came before that intent turned into a visit.

  1. TOTAL DEMAND

    100%

    Opportunities detected in the system.

  2. COMPLETE CRITERIA

    92%

    With budget, location, and size defined.

  3. AVAILABLE INVENTORY

    78%

    Active units that could be matched at that moment.

  4. VISIT SCHEDULED

    2.13%

    Almost no opportunity completed the journey.

DIAGNOSIS

The bottleneck wasn't capturing demand or finding inventory. It was turning that intent into a next action.

Before designing a solution, I questioned four parts of the system.

SYNTHESIS

COMMON PATTERN

The friction didn't live on one screen or in one team. It repeated across the system as the same continuity failure.

A break in operational continuity

  1. 01LEAD → VISIT

    QUESTION

    At which step does the user's progress fade?

    SIGNAL

    Fewer than 3% scheduled a visit.

  2. 02PRODUCTIVITY

    QUESTION

    Is human attention spread evenly?

    SIGNAL

    80% of the work fell on a few brokers.

  3. 03INVENTORY + MATCH

    QUESTION

    Is there an objective fit between inventory and searches?

    SIGNAL

    Over 85% had matches that were never connected.

  4. 04SELF-SERVICE

    QUESTION

    What happens to people who come in without an assigned broker?

    SIGNAL

    Over 3,600 orphaned opportunities.

04 / INSIGHT

The problem wasn't generating more demand. It was better connecting the demand that already existed.

All four lines of research pointed to the same conclusion: the system already had demand, criteria, and inventory. What it lacked was a layer that could connect them into a next action.

05 / STRATEGIC DECISION

We needed an active orchestration layer.

MatchAgent interface for managing opportunities, compatible candidates, and visit recommendations

One opportunity, from signal to visit.

CASE JOURNEY · ANA G.

  1. NO PROGRESS FOR 31H

    Inactivity signal detected.

    Active
  2. INTERPRETED

    Profile analyzed by the model.

  3. MATCH 94%

    Best-fit property identified.

    94%
  4. RECOMMENDATION SENT

    Recommendation sent to Ana G.

  5. VISIT SCHEDULED

    Meeting confirmed with Ana G.

    Goal

OPPORTUNITY WORKSPACE

01 / 04

MatchAgent interpreting an opportunity into verifiable requirements

MATCH-AGENT

MOMENT 01

Moment 01 of 04: Interpret

Not everything is automated. The system knows when to stop.

Each situation has a clear rule: continue, ask for review, or stop.

SITUATIONWHEN IT HAPPENSWHAT THE SYSTEM DOES
High confidence
WHEN IT HAPPENSExact criteria and confirmed availability.
WHAT THE SYSTEM DOESProceeds on its own
Low confidence
WHEN IT HAPPENSVague budget or mixed requirements.
WHAT THE SYSTEM DOESAsks for human review
Outdated data
WHEN IT HAPPENSUnverified availability.
WHAT THE SYSTEM DOESRequests confirmation
Negotiation
WHEN IT HAPPENSContract terms or discounts.
WHAT THE SYSTEM DOESHands off to the broker
No match
WHEN IT HAPPENSNo relevant matches.
WHAT THE SYSTEM DOESDoesn't make up alternatives

The next step wasn't scaling. It was validating whether the intervention moved the system.

We designed a conceptual pilot to test whether MatchAgent turns more opportunities into visits before scaling it. It's a proposal: it hasn't run yet.

PRIMARY METRIC

Baseline

2.13%

of opportunities reached a scheduled visit. It's the starting point the pilot has to beat.

Observed in the current systemVisit scheduled

RESPONSE TIME

Hypothesis

Minutes

Hypothesis: respond in minutes, versus more than a day today.

Today: more than a dayTo validate

GUARDRAILS

Safety limits

4

Conditions that stop the pilot: wrong match, outdated inventory, user opt-out, and forced human intervention.

If one breaks: pause

THE PILOT

What we test and what we measure

  1. 1

    The pilot

    50 eligible opportunities over 30 days, against a control group on the traditional workflow.

  2. 2

    The journey

    Each opportunity is tracked through 5 states: Eligible → Contacted → Replied → Viewed shortlist → Visit scheduled.

  3. 3

    Secondary metrics

    First-response rate and time, match acceptance, and shortlist engagement.

Conceptual pilot · not run

OBSERVED VS. HYPOTHESIS

What we expect to see

Response

More than a day → Minutes

HYPOTHESIS

Visit scheduled

2.13% → To be measured in the pilot

TO MEASURE

Coverage

Limited → All eligible demand

HYPOTHESIS
Modeled scenario · not a resultObserved baseline

DECISION RULE

If the primary metric improves and the guardrails stay in range, scale. If a guardrail breaks, pause and iterate.

THRESHOLDS TO BE SET WITH THE TEAM

Final reflection

MY ROLE

This project started with an open brief and no defined solution. My contribution was turning that starting point into a direction: I researched the marketplace's data and workflows, found where value was being lost, framed the insight, and turned it into a product proposal, with a prototype and a plan to validate it.

The proposal was selected among the winners of the hackathon's Mexico round.

WHAT I TAKE AWAY

RESEARCH
Starting with the data kept me from designing AI out of inertia. The opportunity wasn't where people talked most, but where the system lost continuity.
DECIDE
The most valuable work wasn't a screen. It was choosing what deserved to be built, and reusing what already existed instead of rebuilding it.
EXPLAIN
A recommendation without a reason doesn't get adopted. That's why every match shows its why, and the system knows when to bring in a person.
VALIDATE
A case doesn't end with a prototype. It ends when there's a clear way to know whether it worked, and to decide whether to scale or stop.
“Before deciding how to design, you have to decide what deserves to be designed.”

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