Kai Proof Builder

Objective

A proof library at workspace/proof-library/ where every asset carries a source, a permission status, and a readiness verdict — and where gaps are documented as findings rather than filled with plausible copy. Cleared assets are rewritten at three lengths and can be pulled by downstream skills by provenance ID; nothing else may be used at all.

Proof is collected, never composed. If it cannot be traced to a real source, it does not exist. Missing proof is itself a finding: "no usable transformation proof exists — run /kai-case-study with the two clients named in the CRM export" is a correct output of this skill.

Done when

Work type audit-report — floor E3/C4/O1 (harness/eco-floors.yaml): client-facing analysis whose every quantitative claim must resolve to a collector source.

• E3 — a named human approved the exact _provenance.md ledger and the rendered assets. This skill builds a library; it never publishes.
• C4 — the Kai Data Provenance Rule in full (collector ran before any number was written, mode declared, every quantitative claim citing a collector source, every gap in _data-gaps.md rather than in a guess), plus the FTC gate below, banned_word_check clean, and Four U's at 12/16 for full stories and fusion pieces, 10/16 for stat lines and blurbs.
• O1 — the summary names the single highest-value next action with an owner and a date (e.g. "get written permission from the P-002 customer — strongest transformation asset in the library").

Max 2 retry cycles, fixing only the named failure. After 2 failures, escalate with specifics and log the diagnosis per memory/lessons.md doctrine.

Constraints

• Read MARKETING.md from the project root first. If absent, build it from the codebase — CLAUDE.md, README.md, PROJECT.md, package.json, landing pages, email/ad/analytics config — using the template from /kai-email-system, and confirm the draft. Do not ask the user what the product is.

• Run the collector before writing anything public or quantitative (review counts, rankings, traffic, visible press):

  python -m scripts.audit.collect --url https://<domain> --mode <sales_external|onboarding_connected> --workflow proof-builder --out workspace/proof-library/_data
  

  Declare the mode first — sales_external by default, onboarding_connected only with confirmed access, internal_demo labeled as sample data everywhere it appears. Read kai-data.json from the output folder.

• Every item gets a provenance row in workspace/proof-library/_provenance.md: ID, one-line asset, source class, source location (file / URL / system plus date), source tier, permission status, verification method, readiness.

• A quote without a locatable source — file, URL, transcript timestamp, email date — is not inventory; it is a gap. A number the user remembers is Tier 4 until they produce the export; record it as a gap naming who can supply it.

• Never fill a thin category with plausible-sounding entries. Every hole goes in workspace/proof-library/_data-gaps.md with what is missing, why it matters, and who or what can supply it.

• Numbers are frozen. Not rounded up, not "nearly," not annualized, not extrapolated. The number in a rendering equals the number in its source.

• Direct quotes stay verbatim and attributed. Ellipses may shorten a quote only when meaning is unchanged; two quotes are never spliced. Attribution matches the permission status — named, first-name, or anonymized. Named testimonial use requires written permission on file.

• No superlatives ("best," "#1," "fastest") unless a Tier 1–2 source substantiates that exact comparative claim. Every rendering carries its provenance ID in an HTML comment: <!-- proof: P-001 -->.

• Anything not cleared never ships. /kai-landing-page, /kai-social, /kai-write, and /kai-brief may pull only cleared assets, by provenance ID.

• Approval doctrine. Any use of a cleared asset on a live channel goes through /kai-gate and human approval first. Permission requests to customers are drafted for a human to send — never sent autonomously.

• Guarantees and risk reversal are offer mechanics, not proof assets — hand off to /kai-offer-builder.

Context

Where real proof comes from — check connected tools and the repo before asking the user:

Categories. Proof's job in the Value Equation is raising Perceived Likelihood of Achievement — the prospect's belief that they specifically get the result, not just that it works. Third-party validation beats first-person claims.

Two Hormozi mechanics apply while sorting. Proof over claims: demonstrated work is itself proof of competence, so published frameworks, teardowns, and free tools belong in Authority when they exist — do not claim expertise the library can demonstrate. The testimonial flywheel: premium clients produce better results, which produce testimonials that justify the premium. Transformation is the highest-value category; when it is empty, say so in _data-gaps.md and route to /kai-case-study.

Three renderings per cleared asset, all in one file at workspace/proof-library/<category>/<id>-<slug>.md: a stat line (≤ 20 words, for ads, headers, proof bars), a short blurb (40–80 words, for landing sections, email, decks), and a full story (200–400 words, for case-study callouts and long-form). Single-piece polish is /kai-write's job; channel distribution is /kai-repurpose's.

Fusion pairs the 3–5 strongest cleared assets (prefer Transformation and Quantitative with named permission) with narrative: before state in the customer's words → turning point → measured after state. Every sentence is marked [S] sourced (traceable to the provenance row, transcript, or export) or [C] connective tissue (transitions and framing the writer added). [C] may set scene and connect facts; it may never add events, feelings the customer never expressed, dialogue, or implied metrics. If the story only works because of an invented detail, it is not ready — log the missing input, usually a follow-up question for the customer. Write to workspace/proof-library/fusion/<id>-story.md with a marked-up review copy above a clean copy.

FTC compliance gate, applied to every asset:

1. Genuine and current — a testimonial must reflect the endorser's genuine, current experience. Stale results (product changed, customer churned) get flagged for re-verification.
2. Typical results — an atypical featured result must disclose what typical consumers achieve. "Results not typical" alone is not sufficient; state the typical outcome from Tier 1–3 data. With no typical-results data, the atypical claim is blocked, not disclaimed around.
3. Material connection — payment, free product, affiliate, employment, or family relationship must be disclosed clearly and before or alongside the endorsement, never buried (16 CFR Part 255).
4. No unsubstantiated superlatives — anecdotal or testimonial evidence is never sufficient substantiation for an objective product claim.
5. Fake Reviews Rule — no purchased, undisclosed-incentivized, insider, or AI-fabricated reviews anywhere in the library. If provenance cannot rule this out for a review source, the asset is blocked.
6. Expert framing — anyone presented as an expert must hold the relevant qualifications, verified in the provenance row.

Then, per rendered file:

python scripts/quality_gates/four_us_score.py --file <file>    # 12/16 full stories & fusion pieces; 10/16 stat lines & blurbs
python scripts/quality_gates/banned_word_check.py --file <file> # zero violations

Readiness verdicts in _provenance.md: cleared (source verified, permission on file, compliance passed — usable by other skills); needs-permission (real asset, but written permission, typical-results data, or disclosure language is outstanding — list exactly what is needed and from whom); blocked (unverifiable source, failed compliance, permission refused, or fabrication risk — do not use; state why).

Output — workspace/proof-library/ holds _provenance.md (the ledger), _data-gaps.md, _data/ (collector output), the four category folders, fusion/, and _quality-report.md (gate scores, compliance results, retry log). Close with counts per verdict, top gaps, and the highest-value next action. Re-sweep quarterly or after any product or pricing change, and recheck cleared testimonials for currency. New wins land here first, then feed /kai-case-study and knowledge/playbooks/what-works.md.

Escalate when

• A number matters to the pitch and no export, dashboard, or system query can produce it.
• Permission for a named testimonial is ambiguous, verbal, or secondhand.
• A featured result looks atypical and no typical-results data exists, or a review source cannot be ruled clean of incentives or fabrication.
• Someone is presented as an expert and their qualifications cannot be verified, or the library has no Transformation assets at all — that is a business finding, not a writing problem.
• A downstream skill asks for an asset that is not cleared.