By Spectra Investments & KYR Capital
The report “AI Playbook for Searchers and Operators in LATAM” studies how AI is being adopted by professionals in the Latin American SF ecosystem. It is based on a survey of 35 practitioners: 25 searchers who are looking for companies to acquire and 10 operators/CEOs who are already managing acquired businesses. The report explores how AI is changing the acquisition process, business operations, productivity, and decision-making.
The main conclusion is that AI is no longer viewed as an optional productivity tool. It has become part of the operational infrastructure for searchers and operators. The question is no longer whether professionals should use AI, but how deeply and strategically they integrate it into their daily work.
Among searchers, AI adoption is extremely high. All surveyed searchers use AI during their search process, and most use it regularly or daily. The biggest productivity improvements are not necessarily achieved by people with advanced technical knowledge; instead, the strongest results come from users who apply AI consistently to important tasks. This suggests that discipline and frequency of use are more important than complex technical skills.
AI is especially useful for activities such as market research, preparing investment materials, identifying acquisition targets, and performing preliminary company analysis. Some searchers reported reducing tasks that previously took many hours into processes that could be completed much faster. However, AI still struggles with areas requiring high financial precision, especially financial modeling, where mistakes in assumptions, valuations, and scenarios remain common.
Another important finding is that AI workflows become stronger over time. Searchers who created multiple workflows generally found that later workflows performed better than their first attempts. This indicates that learning compounds: once users understand how to structure prompts, inputs, and processes, they can build better systems faster.
A major weakness identified among searchers is the gap between confidence and preparation. Most believe their AI workflows can eventually be transferred into the companies they acquire, but very few have documented them properly. Without documentation, AI processes remain dependent on one individual and become harder to scale across an organization.
For operators running acquired companies, the situation is different. Most companies started with very low AI maturity at the time of acquisition, with little or no previous AI implementation. After acquisition, companies improved their AI adoption, especially in areas such as data analytics, marketing, and customer-facing functions.
The report highlights that successful AI transformation requires strong leadership. AI initiatives led directly by CEOs were much more likely to be considered valuable than initiatives delegated to other employees. The reason is that AI adoption is not only a technology project; it requires changes in processes, priorities, and company culture.
Operators also identified lack of internal talent and expertise as the biggest obstacle to AI adoption. The main challenge is not the cost of AI tools, but having people who know how to implement them effectively. Companies that invested in training, workshops, and internal AI education tended to show stronger progress.
The report also shows that many professionals are currently learning about AI independently. Searchers and operators often experiment on their own, but there is strong demand for collaboration, peer learning, and workshops where they can exchange successful workflows and implementation ideas.
Overall, the analysis suggests that AI will become an important competitive advantage for SFs and acquired companies in Latin America. The organizations that benefit most will not necessarily be those with the most advanced technology, but those that build repeatable processes, document their workflows, develop internal capabilities, and have leaders who actively promote AI adoption.
Read the full report here:
