Gaia Client Research Intake and Spend-Cap Configuration (Onboarding)

Gaia Client Research Intake and Spend-Cap Configuration (Onboarding)

1. 01

   Create a Base wallet for the client engagement and fund it with USDC

   Gaia charges $0.25 USDC per research report and $0.02 USDC per short answer, so a 40-report month needs roughly $10 USDC plus buffer. Keep the wallet separate from the agency's own operating wallet so client research spend never mixes with internal costs.

2. 02

   Review Gaia's refusal rules before accepting the client's question list

   Gaia refuses illegal, harmful, and personal financial, medical, or legal questions before charging. Screen the client's intake form against those categories at onboarding so a refused query never becomes a delivery surprise mid-retainer.

3. 03

   Submit one paid pilot question through Gaia's on-demand form

   Pay the $0.25 USDC vendor cost from the funded wallet and confirm the cited report lands within the hour Gaia advertises. Run one $0.02 short-answer query in the same session to compare output depth against the client's actual deliverable format.

4. 04

   Test the refusal-before-charging behavior with an out-of-scope question

   Submit a question that falls into the personal-advice category and verify the wallet balance is unchanged. This confirms the client is not billed for work Gaia declines, which matters when the agency is passing costs through on a retainer.

5. 05

   Configure spend-cap rules against Gaia's daily compute limit display

   Gaia shows real-time AI compute spending against a daily limit, plus wallet balance, credits, and life-left estimates. Set the agency's internal alert threshold below that daily limit so a heavy research week does not drain the client wallet without warning.

6. 06

   Build the client's templated prompt set from the pilot output

   Turn the two pilot queries into five reusable prompts mapped to the client's most common research questions. Store them in the agency's delivery workspace, not in Gaia, since Gaia has no saved-prompt library.

7. 07

   Document the handoff guide and wallet custody decision

   Decide whether the client holds their own USDC on Base or the agency custodies the wallet. Non-technical clients in law, clinics, and consulting will usually need the agency to hold it, which means the handoff guide must state the top-up process and who owns the balance at contract end.