"Can anyone recommend a good orthodontist near Koramangala? Looking at adult braces." Posts like this go up in local Facebook groups, Reddit threads and community forums every day. Whoever replies helpfully first usually gets the appointment.
That's the warmest lead there is. They've already decided they need the thing. They just haven't decided who to go to. Most businesses never see these posts.
How it works
- 1Watch public groups and forums
- 2AI reads each post for real intent
- 3Match to your service and area
- 4Daily list in a shared sheet
- 5A person replies
Why keywords alone don't work
Search for "orthodontist" and you'll get dentists advertising, people complaining, memes and old threads. The useful part is reading the post the way a person would: is this someone asking for help, nearby, recently? That's what the AI step is for. It tags each post:
| Intent | Example | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Asking for a recommendation | "Any good physio in HSR?" | Reply today |
| Comparing options | "Clinic A or Clinic B for Invisalign?" | Reply with something useful, not a pitch |
| Unhappy with current provider | "My insurance renewal doubled, is this normal?" | Helpful answer, offer to look |
| Just talking about it | "Braces at 30, anyone else?" | Skip |
What your team actually sees
One sheet, updated every morning: the post, where it was posted, how long ago, the intent tag, the nearest location, and a suggested reply. Your team scans it in five minutes and replies to the good ones.
Who this works for
- Local clinics: dental, physio, dermatology, vets.
- Home services: cleaners, electricians, interior designers.
- Insurance and finance: people unhappy with a renewal or comparing policies.
- B2B: people asking which tool or agency to use in founder and industry communities.
Questions people ask me
Is this legal?
Reading public posts and replying as yourself is ordinary marketing. What isn't okay is scraping private groups, mass-messaging people or hiding who you are. We don't do any of that.
How many leads will it find?
It depends heavily on your city and niche. A week of monitoring usually gives a good idea before you commit to anything.
This is one of the systems in our lead gen service.
Founder of Overtake. I was a founding engineer at four startups, two of them in Y Combinator. I write about the AI systems I build for small businesses: what works, what doesn't, and how to start.
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