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Implement Insight Agent (Staircase AI) Integration

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This article describes the admin step-by-step integration process for CS and Staircase AI.

This article describes the admin step-by-step integration process for CS and Insight Agent (Staircase AI).

Overview

The Gainsight CS and Insight Agent (Staircase AI) integration is designed to help you drive measurable outcomes through seamless configuration, adoption, and continuous value delivery.

Prerequisites

Before beginning the implementation process, you must have:

  • Active Gainsight CS subscription
  • Insight Agent (Staircase AI) subscription (contact your Gainsight representative)
  • Admin access to both platforms
  • Confirmed integration eligibility (Gainsight as primary CRM)

Note: If your organization uses Salesforce as the main CRM with Staircase, it must be integrated directly with SFDC instead.

Perform the following steps to implement Gainsight CS and Insight Agent (Staircase AI) integration:

  1. Activate the Integration
  2. Configure Field Mappings between Gainsight CS and Staircase
  3. Configure User Access
  4. Verify Integration

Activate the Integration

To activate the integration:

  1. Contact Gainsight Support to request the Staircase integration. This links Gainsight with your Staircase tenant. 
    1. If AI Follow-Up is activated in Gainsight CS, contact support to upgrade the connection.
    2. If AI Follow-Up is not activated in Gainsight CS, a Gainsight CS Admin must log in to Staircase as an Admin to connect both instances and configure the account sync filters. For more information, refer to the Set up Gainsight CS and Staircase Integration section.
  2. Once enabled, Gainsight super admins automatically receive Staircase Admin access. 

Set up Gainsight CS and Staircase Integration

If AI Follow-Up is not enabled in Gainsight CS, admins must complete the following steps in Staircase to set up the integration:

  1. Navigate to Settings > Integrations.
  2. Click the Gainsight card. 
  3. Click Connect. The Gainsight login page appears. 
  4. Enter the credentials. Gainsight gets connected to the Staircase instance. 
    Once integration is successful, the following tabs appear:
    • CRM: CRM tab has the following options:
      • Synchronize Gainsight accounts with Staircase AI: Select the checkbox to activate the sync between Gainsight and Staircase. Once this is selected, the following options appears:
        Synchronize Gainsight accounts with Staircase AI checkbox in gainsight.
        1. Filter accounts to sync into Staircase AI: This defines the filter criteria that determines which accounts are synchronized into Insight Agent (Staircase AI). Select Sync specific accounts option if you want the sync for specific accounts and select Sync all accounts option if you want to establish sync for all the accounts.
          Options to either sync specific accounts or all accounts during integration setup Sync specific accounts allows selective syncing, while Sync all accounts enables syncing for all available accounts..jpg
          If you have selected Sync specific accounts, follow the steps below:
          1. From the Field and Values dropdown lists, select the corresponding values to filter the account based on this criteria. The count at the bottom of the page reflects the number of accounts that match the applied filter.
            Field and Values dropdown lists
          2. Click Add row if you want to add a new filter on the account list.
            Note: To delete a filter, click the Remove filter icon. 
            Add row to add a new filter on the account list
        2. Churned and prospect accounts: In this option, you can map your account’s status for churned and prospects accounts from the Status field dropdown list. This further filters down the account based on specific criteria set by admins.
          Status field dropdown list to map account’s status for churned and prospects accounts
        3. Sync team member’s names and reporting structure from Gainsight: Select the checkbox if you want to synchronize the names of team members and their reporting hierarchy from Gainsight to Staircase.
          Sync team member’s names and reporting structure from Gainsight checkbox
        4. Click Update to save the changes.
    • Call summary upload: Select the Call summary upload checkbox to log all call summaries in the Timeline automatically.
      Call summary upload checkbox to log all call summaries in the Timeline automatically.
  5. Click Save.

Configure Field Mappings between Gainsight CS and Staircase

When Staircase and Gainsight CS are connected there are some Account fields that are mapped out of the box like:

  • CRM Account ID
  • Name
  • Owner
  • Parent Account

However, the Staircase Admins need to map additional fields for Staircase to function properly like:

  • Tier (most important)
  • Revenue
  • Renewal Date
  • Journey Stage

To configure field mappings in Staircase, navigate to Settings > Configuration > Account Fields. 
Navigation Path for field mappings in Staircase .

For more information on how to add a custom field, refer to the Mapping Custom Fields & Integrations article.

Configure User Access

To configure user access based on roles:

  1. Navigate to Administration > Users and Permissions > User Management in Gainsight CS. 
  2. From the GS Role dropdown list, select a GS Role to assign appropriate Staircase roles to users. The roles include:
    • Staircase User: Individual CSMs (view owned accounts)
    • Staircase Manager: Team leaders (view all communications and team stats)
    • Staircase Admin: System administrators (full access including settings)
      Note: Changing a GS Role automatically updates their Staircase access. Removing a GS Role revokes Staircase access or inactivating the CS User also revokes the staircase access. 
  3. Click Update.
    GS Role option in user management.

Note

  • If multiple users in Gainsight CS share the same email address, only one of them can be assigned a Staircase role and access Insight Agent in Gainsight CS. 
  • When a user’s email address is updated in Gainsight CS, the change is automatically reflected in Staircase AI. The updated email is visible on the Staircase AI admin page. However, in the Staircase AI’s Teams view, the email address is not updated and may continue to display the old email. 

validation message in User tab

Permission Bundle 

As part of the Staircase integration setup, the system automatically creates two out-of-the-box permission bundles: Default Staircase Full Permissions for full licensed users and Default Staircase Viewer Plus Permissions for viewer plus licensed users.

Within these permission bundles, the following Staircase-specific items are automatically selected:

  • Under Navigation Permissions

    • Insights > Staircase Communication
    • Insights > Staircase AI Reports

  • Within Settings

    • Staircase AI Setting

The system automatically assigns the two default permission bundles to users. A dynamic rule assigns these bundles to users with a GS Role of Staircase Admin, or Staircase Manager, or a Staircase User. As a result, any user with a Staircase-specific role automatically receives the default permission bundles.

Note 

  • Super admins cannot customize the default permission bundles but can modify their current permission bundles by adding or updating Staircase navigation items as needed.
  • The system automatically assigns default Staircase permission bundles based on the user's assigned Staircase role. This is done using a dynamic rule, and if the rule is updated, the system applies the changes accordingly.

Verify Integration

To verify if the integration is successful:

  1. In the Gainsight apps menu, verify that the Staircase option appears.
    Staircase option in the Gainsight apps menu
  2. Validate that SSO works properly between platforms.
  3. Verify that the user permissions are correctly assigned.

Once all required steps are completed, the basic integration is complete. Next, admins need to configure the C360 Layout to display Insight Agent (Staircase AI) insights within Gainsight CS.

Configure C360 Layout

To configure Insight Agent (Staircase AI) in C360 layout:

  1. Navigate to Administration > 360 Layouts > C360/P360. 
  2. In the Configure sections tab, drag and drop the Staircase AI section from the left pane.
    Configure sections tab with Staircase AI section
  3. (Optional) To rename the section widget, click the section.
    Optional step to Rename the section widget
  4. (Optional) Click Preview, then select a record to view a preview of the layout.
    Preview option to view a preview of the layout.
  5. Click Save to apply changes.

View Staircase AI Insights in Gainsight CS

When the Staircase integration is active, Gainsight CS automatically receives AI-generated insights from Staircase in near real time. You can access these insights through the C360 Summary layout and Gainsight Home to take action on your accounts. You can also use the AI objects stored in Data Management to build native reports and dashboards in Gainsight CS, combining Staircase AI data with your existing company data.

To view the three AI objects, navigate to Administration > Customer Data > Data Management and search for the object by name in the search bar.

The following three AI objects are available:

Object Display Name

Object Name

Object Type

Description

AI Insight Types

ai_insight_types

System

Stores all insight types that Staircase AI can detect for a company, with one record per insight type.

AI Insights

ai_insights

Standard

Stores a complete history of all insights detected for a company over time, including past entries.

Company AI Attributes

company_ai_attributes

Standard

Stores the current state of a company, indicating which insights are actively triggered for the account at a given point in time.

For more information on these objects, refer to the Gainsight Objects article.

Surface AI Insights in C360

You can add Staircase AI fields to the existing Attributes widget in the C360 Summary layout. Once added, these fields appear alongside standard company attributes, giving CSMs a complete view of account signals directly in C360. Each Staircase AI field is marked with an AI icon for easy identification.

To add Staircase AI fields to the Attributes widget:

  1. Navigate to Administration > C360 Layouts.
  2. Open a layout and click the gear icon on the CSM Summary section.

    C360 Layout configuration showing Configure Sections with CSM Summary settings, section order, and configuration options for C360 layout.
     
  3. On the canvas, click the gear icon on the Attributes widget.

    CSM Summary Configuration showing configurable widgets, canvas layout, and widget settings for customizing the C360 Summary section.
     
  4. In the Select Attributes panel, select Company AI Attributes to view all available Staircase AI fields.
  5. Select the required fields and click Save to apply changes.

    CSM Summary Configuration showing Attributes widget settings with selectable AI attributes and Save option to update the C360 summary layout.

Surface AI Insights on Gainsight Home

You can add AI Insight widgets to the summary ribbon and an AI Insights table widget to Gainsight Home. The summary ribbon supports 14 out-of-the-box AI Insight reports, including Account Dark, No Reach Out, and Churn Risk. Clicking a widget drills down to the list of affected accounts.

To configure AI Insights on Gainsight Home:

  1. Navigate to Gainsight Home.
  2. Click the three-dots menu and select Personalize My Home.

    Home dashboard showing Personalize My Home option to customize widgets and layout for the user's personalized home experience.
     
  3. In the Configure Summary Ribbon panel, select AI Insights from the dropdown list.
  4. Select the required AI Insight report from the list.

    Select AI Insight Report page
     
  5. Click Save to apply changes.

Viewing Staircase AI insights in Gainsight CS is available only to customers who have purchased Staircase AI.

Grant Access for Executive Dashboard

Admins must assign access to the Executive Dashboard for the appropriate team members. To assign access to the Executive Dashboard:

  1. Navigate to Administration > Dashboard Builder > Dashboard List.
  2. Open the System folder and locate the Staircase Executive Dashboard.
    System folder in dashboard list page.
  3. From the three-vertical dots menu, click Manage Permissions to assign permissions to applicable team members.
    Manage Permissions to assign permissions to applicable team members.
  4. From the Manage Permissions for Staircase Executive Dashboard dialog box, select a permission type.
    By default, only the System Administer is assigned. However, admins can add preferred people with roles such as Staircase Manager, Staircase CSM, or Staircase Admin.
    Note: Dashboard Privacy Settings
    • Private: Only the creator can view
    • Public (View Only): Anyone with Dashboard access can view. Making a Dashboard Public allows anyone with access to Dashboard to view it.    
    • Public (View & Edit): Anyone with Dashboard access can view, and anyone with Dashboard Builder access can edit. t.   
    • Public (View & Share): Anyone with Dashboard access can view and share. 
    • Give access to specific people allows you to grant permission to a specific user or group of users.
      Manage Permissions for Staircase Executive Dashboard.
  5. Click Done to save the changes.

For more information on getting started with Staircase in Gainsight CS, refer to the Explore Insight Agent (Staircase AI) in Gainsight CS article.