AI-Assisted Reviews helps review writers produce higher-quality performance reviews grounded in work that already happened in 15Five and in connected work tools. 15Five AI gathers evidence as Moments, drafts answers for eligible open-text questions, and gives managers a conversation guide for the review discussion. The writer decides what is accurate and what to keep, and 15Five AI never submits a review.
AI-Assisted Reviews is part of 15Five's connected AI system and draws on the Context library, including data captured by Kona Meeting Assistant. See How 15Five AI works together for how data flows between capabilities.
If your organization uses the legacy review experience, see Complete a manager review in the legacy review experience.
In This Article
- Access and availability
- Which review types receive AI drafting
- What AI-Assisted Reviews is built from
- What writers can do
- Key rules
Access and Availability
- Plans. Total Platform and Perform & Goals.
- Cycles. Manual review cycles. Lifecycle Reviews are excluded from AI-Assisted Reviews and are unaffected by its availability or settings.
- Enablement. Two settings are required: Feature Settings > 15Five AI > AI-Assisted Reviews, and Agents Hub > Performance Reviews AI. Company enablement does not decide how an individual cycle behaves.
- Per cycle. An admin chooses the review experience for each cycle. See Configure the review experience for a cycle (Admin).
- Per writer. Within a cycle using AI-Assisted Reviews, an admin can target AI drafting to everyone, everyone except selected people or groups, or only selected people or groups.
Which review types receive AI drafting
| Review type | AI drafting | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Self review | Yes | Drafting for eligible open-text questions, plus the Context library and the review assistant |
| Manager review | Yes | Also includes a preview step before submission and, when enabled, a conversation guide |
| Additional-manager review | Yes | The additional manager completes their own review rather than replacing the primary manager review |
| Peer review | No | Can be included in the same cycle, but uses the new review experience without AI drafting, Moments, or review assistant |
| Upward review | No | Can be included in the same cycle, but uses the new review experience without AI drafting, Moments, or review assistant |
Feature Structure
Moments. Evidence drawn from work that happened during the cycle's performance period, organized so the writer can decide what is worth including. The performance period sets the boundary for what can become a Moment. Not everything inside that period becomes one. See Understand Moments in AI-Assisted Reviews.
Context library. The areas a writer can draw on while writing, including Moments, 15Five Data, Notes, Files, My Context, and Company Context. Existing permissions still apply inside the Context library. A writer only sees what they already have access to.
AI drafting. Drafts for eligible open-text questions. Every draft can be edited, rewritten, or removed, and the writer can choose to write an answer themselves instead.
Prompt Instructions. Company-level guidance an admin sets for how 15Five AI should approach the writing, configured separately for manager review answers, self-assessment answers, and the conversation guide. They shape how an answer is written rather than serving as evidence, and they do not appear as citations. See Set up Prompt Instructions (Admin).
Review assistant. A writer can ask 15Five AI to make an answer more specific, shorten or restructure it, clarify a growth area, check for bias, identify what may be missing, or help phrase difficult feedback. See Use the review assistant while writing a review.
Manager preview. Managers go through a preview and final-check step before submitting, prompting them to consider the balance, specificity, and actionability of their feedback. This is a final step for the manager, not another AI assessment of the employee.
Conversation guide. Available to the manager once the self review and the manager review have both been submitted, when conversation guides are enabled for the cycle. It includes an AI-generated Review Summary that is manager-private and is not displayed or sent to the employee. See Use the Conversation Guide after a review (Manager).
Added context
| Type | Who adds it | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Company Context | Admins | Company-level context such as values, strategy, or management philosophy. Each entry has its own visibility: Everyone, Managers, or Admins. Writers see the Company Context that applies to them but do not control whether it is included. See Add and manage Company Context (Admin). |
| My Context | Each individual, for themselves | Context a person adds about their own work. A manager cannot add My Context on behalf of a direct report. |
| Notes and Files | The writer | Added in the Context library while writing a specific review, to give 15Five AI more to work from for that review. |
Kona Meeting Assistant data
- When Kona Meeting Assistant is enabled, AI-Assisted Reviews draws from the original notes Kona captured during the meeting, not from notes edited afterward.
- Both participants in a 1-on-1 can edit Kona meeting notes. Edits are saved to the 1-on-1 agenda but do not change what AI-Assisted Reviews draws from.
- Only meetings where Kona is present generate data available to AI-Assisted Reviews.
Including historical or pre-Kona notes
- My Context. Add the historical notes as a File or paste them as text. This is the most targeted approach because you control exactly what 15Five AI can reference.
- 1-on-1 notes. Paste the notes into the shared notes section of a 1-on-1 and end the 1-on-1. They can be picked up if they fall within the cycle's performance period and are relevant to the review questions.
What You Can Do
Set up
- Set up AI-Assisted Reviews
- Configure 15Five AI feature settings
- Configure the review experience for a cycle (Admin)
- Set up Prompt Instructions (Admin)
- Add and manage Company Context (Admin)
Write a review
- Write a self review with AI-Assisted Reviews
- Write a manager review with AI-Assisted Reviews
- Access and Submit an Additional Manager Review
- Use the review assistant while writing a review
- Understand Moments in AI-Assisted Reviews
After the review
Common Issues
- A cycle is using the legacy review experience. See Troubleshoot: A review cycle is using the legacy review experience.
- AI drafting is not available to a writer. See Troubleshoot: A review writer has no AI drafts.
- A draft is there but inaccurate, weak, or focused on the wrong work. See Troubleshoot: An AI draft is inaccurate or emphasizes the wrong thing.
- Fewer Moments appear than expected. See Troubleshoot: A review has fewer Moments than expected.
- A manager cannot find a conversation guide. See Troubleshoot: A manager cannot find a conversation guide.
- The review experience needs to change on a cycle that is already underway. See Edit settings in an active performance review cycle.
Several behaviors that look like problems are working as intended. See What does AI-Assisted Reviews do and not do?
Key Rules
- 15Five AI drafts open-text questions. It does not choose ratings, and every required rating remains the writer's own selection.
- 15Five AI never submits a review.
- AI drafting and conversation guides are enabled independently. A cycle can have one without the other.
- Connected work tools are optional.
- Prompt Instructions are company-level, not per-cycle.
- A review template must include at least one open-text question to use Enable 15Five AI.
- Cycles that were already draft, upcoming, or active before September 17 stay on the legacy review experience by default.
- Existing permissions apply inside the Context library. A writer only sees what they already have access to.
Note: To ensure the highest level of security, 15Five is continually investing in our overall information security program, resources, and expertise. To review 15Five's security documents, and how we handle your company data, see our Trust Website.