AI Assisted Reviews is a 15Five Agent that helps managers and employees write higher-quality performance reviews grounded in real data. It uses 15Five's context layer performance history, 1:1 notes, check-ins, goals, peer feedback, and signals from connected work tools to surface evidence and draft review answers so reviewers never start from a blank page.
This article applies to organizations enrolled in the AI-assisted reviews beta. If your organization uses the current AI Assist experience, see Complete a manager review with AI Assist.
Who can use the AI-assisted reviews agent?
The AI-assisted reviews agent is available to review writers when enabled by an administrator.
| Review Type | Persona | Reflect | Write | Check | Discuss |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Self Reviews | Employee, Manager | ✓ | ✓ | - | - |
| Manager Reviews | Manager | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Upward Reviews | - | - | - | - | - |
| Peer Reviews | - | - | - | - | - |
Availability
AI Assisted Reviews Agent is available to all writers of self and manager reviews when enabled by an administrator.
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.
How AI-Assisted Reviews works
AI-assisted reviews guide reviewers through four phases:
| Phase | What happens | Available for |
|---|---|---|
| Reflect | Review Moments — sourced evidence organized by theme — before any writing begins | Self reviews, Manager reviews |
| Write | AI drafts answers grounded in your Moments. A Review Assistant provides real-time Suggestions and a Chat assistant. | Self reviews, Manager reviews |
| Check | Preview how your review reads to the recipient, with a quality summary across multiple dimensions | Manager reviews only |
| Discuss | A Conversation Guide helps you prepare for the performance 1:1 with a suggested agenda, talking points, and an IDP draft | Manager reviews only |
The agent is a thinking partner. It never scores ratings, never blocks submission, and never removes the person writing from the process. Every generated answer can be edited freely, and every claim the AI makes traces back to a specific source.
AI-assisted reviews are currently in beta and available only to organizations that have been enabled by 15Five. Features and functionality may change during the beta period.
What review types are supported?
| Review type | Persona | AI Assisted Reviews available? |
|---|---|---|
| Self reviews | Employee, Manager | Yes (Reflect + Write) |
| Manager reviews | Manager | Yes (all four phases) |
| Upward reviews | Employee | No |
| Peer reviews | Employee | No |
What data do AI-assisted reviews use?
AI Assisted Reviews draws from 15Five's context layer, scoped to the performance period set during cycle creation:
- People and performance context — performance history, 1:1 notes, check-ins, objectives, High Fives, Kona insights, competencies, and peer feedback
- Work context — signals from connected work system integrations (Slack, Jira, Asana, Google Drive, and others), including project activity, collaboration patterns, and communication signals
- Context you add — Company Context set by HR, and My Context added by individuals
The performance period dates control what the agent draws from. Only data within that date range appears in Moments and drafts.
Support levels
HR Admins choose a support level that controls how much AI guidance reviewers receive. Each level builds on the previous one.
| Level | Name | What it adds |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | Writing support | Writing guidance to structure responses, AI highlights strengths and surfaces observations from context, and AI-generated summaries in calibrations |
| Medium | Manager guidance | Everything in Basic, plus manager coaching for review conversations and auto-generated IDPs |
| Full | Full integration | Everything in Medium, plus real work data pulled from Slack, Asana, Calendar, and other connected tools |
Key differences from the current AI Assist
| Current AI Assist | AI Assisted Reviews (Beta) | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting point | Select data sources, generate a summary | Reflect on Moments organized by theme |
| Draft generation | Copy/paste from widget | AI drafts all answers directly in the editor |
| Writing feedback | None | Real-time Suggestions panel (Actionability, Specificity, Balance, Tone consistency) + Bias detection |
| Bias detection | None | Flags gendered language, personality-trait assessments, affinity bias, halo/horn effects, recency bias, and more |
| Post-writing | Submit | Check (preview as recipient) + Discuss (Conversation Guide with agenda and IDP) |
| Self reviews | Not available | Available (Reflect + Write) |
How to request beta access
Contact your account team to opt in to the AI-assisted reviews beta. Once enabled, all reviewers in your organization see the new experience during active review cycles.
Organizations not enrolled in the beta continue using the current AI Assist experience with no changes.