Use whenever the user wants to find, shortlist, vet, or enrich US public-relations and communications agencies — media relations, crisis comms, investor relations (IR), product-launch PR, tech/startup PR, healthcare PR, B2B PR, public affairs, brand reputation, and internal communications. Triggers on "find me a tech PR agency in NY", "shortlist three IR firms for our IPO", "we need crisis comms help for a brand reputation issue", or "pull contact info for these 10 PR firm domains", even when described indirectly (we need press, get us into TechCrunch, manage our brand reputation). Drives the ServiceGraph API (api.servicegraph.co) — a 100k+ US firm catalog filterable by industry, services, location, size, ratings. Defer to find-marketing-agency when scope is broader marketing beyond PR/comms. Skip in-house PR/comms hires, "write me a press release" DIY asks, PR-software comparisons (Cision, Muck Rack), influencer-marketplace questions, non-US firms, individual freelance PR people.
Use whenever the user wants to find, shortlist, vet, or enrich US public-relations and communications agencies — media relations, crisis comms, investor relations (IR), product-launch PR, tech/startup PR, healthcare PR, B2B PR, public affairs, brand reputation, and internal communications. Triggers on "find me a tech PR agency in NY", "shortlist three IR firms for our IPO", "we need crisis comms help for a brand reputation issue", or "pull contact info for these 10 PR firm domains", even when described indirectly (we need press, get us into TechCrunch, manage our brand reputation). Drives the ServiceGraph API (api.servicegraph.co) — a 100k+ US firm catalog filterable by industry, services, location, size, ratings. Defer to find-marketing-agency when scope is broader marketing beyond PR/comms. Skip in-house PR/comms hires, "write me a press release" DIY asks, PR-software comparisons (Cision, Muck Rack), influencer-marketplace questions, non-US firms, individual freelance PR people.
Drive the ServiceGraph API (https://api.servicegraph.co) to find,
shortlist, and enrich US PR and communications agencies via the
pro_services dataset.
Always pin service_provided:public-relations. Note: the
catalog's nominal industry:pr_comms value returns zero firms in
the live release — PR/comms firms are tagged with
service_provided:public-relations instead, typically under adjacent
industries (marketing_agency, other_pro_services). Pin the
service tag, not the industry. Sub-types (media relations, crisis,
IR, public affairs, healthcare PR, tech PR, B2B PR, internal comms,
brand reputation) are NOT separate tags — sub-type specialization is
a keyword substring search on firm text.
Any HTTP client works (curl, fetch, requests). Examples below use curl.
Sibling skills — defer when scope is broader
If the user wants a multi-service marketing engagement (PR plus
content plus paid plus social), defer to find-marketing-agency —
that skill covers full-service shops where PR is one of several
service lines.
This skill is correct when PR/comms is the primary deliverable —
launches, media relations, crisis, IR, public affairs.
When NOT to use this skill
"Write me a press release / draft these talking points" → DIY work.
In-house comms/PR hires (Head of Comms, PR Manager).
Influencer-marketplace asks — that's paid media; defer to find-marketing-agency or refuse for marketplace product questions.
"Explain how earned media works" → knowledge question.
Non-US firms.
Individual freelance PR people / publicists.
Prerequisites
ServiceGraph access, either:
the ServiceGraph MCP server (https://mcp.servicegraph.co) loaded in
your harness — this plugin's .mcp.json wires it up; OAuth 2.1 + PKCE
keeps credentials in the harness sandbox — or
a ServiceGraph API key (vk_…, minted at
https://servicegraph.co/profile/api-keys) available as
SERVICEGRAPH_API_KEY in the environment or .env.local for the REST
path (setup steps under Auth below).
An HTTP client for the REST path — the examples use curl.
Instructions
The loop is free-first: discovery, validation, search, and brief reads cost
nothing; only unlock after the user confirms the spend.
Pick the call path — the ServiceGraph MCP tools if loaded, otherwise the
REST flow (MCP server and Auth sections below).
GET /v1/datasets/pro_services/fields?include_values=1 — confirm the
fields and values you plan to filter on exist.
Build the filter (Filter DSL below) and validate it with
GET /v1/datasets/pro_services/check — or draft it from plain English via
POST /v1/datasets/pro_services/translate-intent.
GET /v1/datasets/pro_services/search — present the free brief cards and
let the user pick.
Quote the unlock cost (10 credits per row, 30-day TTL) and get an explicit
go-ahead.
POST /v1/datasets/pro_services/unlocks with the chosen apexes; report the
revealed detail.
GET /v1/me/credits to report the remaining balance when asked.
MCP server (preferred for authed calls)
If your harness has the ServiceGraph MCP server loaded (tools
containing servicegraph in the name), prefer those — credentials
stay in the harness's OAuth 2.1 + PKCE sandbox and no token enters
LLM context. Otherwise use the REST flow below.
API surface (dataset id: pro_services)
Every endpoint requires the bearer (Authorization: Bearer vk_…).
No anonymous tier.
Endpoint
Cost
Use it for
GET /v1/datasets/pro_services/fields[?include_values=1]
free
Confirm public-relations is in the service_provided value list.
GET /v1/datasets/pro_services/search?filter=…&limit=
free
Brief firm cards + per-row unlock hint + total.
GET /v1/datasets/pro_services/:apex
free
One row brief; detail only if unlocked.
POST /v1/datasets/pro_services/unlocks
10 credits / firm
{apexes:[...]} ≤100; atomic; 30-day TTL on detail.
GET /v1/me/credits
free
Balance.
Cost model. Discovery / validation / search / brief reads are
free. Detail (url, phone, email, social, address, full platforms
map) costs 10 credits per firm and lasts 30 days.
Auth
Tokens are vk_* API keys minted in the dashboard. Keep the token
out of the LLM context — never read .env* files; dispatch every
authed call through a shell wrapper.
Try the call first through a shell wrapper that sources
.env.local:
"Open https://servicegraph.co/profile/api-keys, create a
key, and add SERVICEGRAPH_API_KEY=vk_… to .env.local here
(or export it in your shell). Tell me when done. Please don't
paste the key into chat."
Retry after the user signals ready.
Filter DSL
GitHub-search-style.
filter := orExpr
orExpr := andExpr ("OR" andExpr)*
andExpr := notExpr (("AND")? notExpr)* # whitespace = implicit AND
notExpr := ("NOT" | "-") notExpr | atom
atom := "(" filter ")" | predicate
predicate:= IDENT op valueOrList | bareword
op := ":" | "=" | ">=" | "<=" | ">" | "<"
valueOrList := value ("," value)*
value := IDENT | NUMBER | tagAtEvidence
tagAtEvidence := IDENT "@" ("low"|"medium"|"high")
bareword := IDENT | NUMBER # → keyword:<bareword>
Four rules that bite: AND binds tighter than OR (use parens);
comma list = OR within one predicate; negation is -x or NOT x
(no negative literals inside comma lists); bareword = keyword search
(multi-word phrases must be quoted or split).
PR-flavored examples (validate yours with /check):
Firms are identified by their apex domain (edelman.com, not
www.edelman.com/about).
Output
All responses are JSON.
Search returns free brief firm cards — apex, name, location, and
rating signals — plus a per-row unlock hint and the match total. Briefs
never include url, phone_primary, email_primary, legal_name,
address_full, or the full platforms map.
Unlock (POST …/unlocks) returns each unlocked firm's detail block —
contact fields, address, socials, the platforms map — plus per-item
billing; detail stays readable for 30 days.
Errors arrive as a JSON envelope
{"error": {"code": "…", "message": "…"}} — see Errors below.
Examples
A. Tech PR for a Series-B announcement
User: "Tech PR agency in NY for our Series-B announcement."
GET /v1/datasets/pro_services/search?filter=service_provided:public-relations+tech+state:NY&limit=10
# → 10 brief cards + total + per-row unlock.status
# Present, get pick of 3. "Unlocking 3 = 30 credits, 30-day TTL."
POST /v1/datasets/pro_services/unlocks
{ "apexes": ["firm-a.com", "firm-b.com", "firm-c.com"] }
B. IR firms for an IPO
User: "Three IR firms for our upcoming IPO roadshow."
GET /v1/datasets/pro_services/search?filter=service_provided:public-relations+("investor relations" OR ir)+ipo&limit=10
C. Crisis comms (urgent)
User: "Crisis comms help — brand reputation issue blowing up online."
GET /v1/datasets/pro_services/search?filter=service_provided:public-relations+crisis&limit=10
Skip the validation hop and present briefs immediately given the
urgency.
D. Healthcare / regulatory PR
User: "Healthcare PR agency familiar with FDA regulatory comms."
GET /v1/datasets/pro_services/search?filter=service_provided:public-relations+healthcare+(fda OR regulatory)&limit=10
E. Indirect intent — "we need press"
User: "We need press for our Series-B — get us into TechCrunch, WSJ,
and the trade press."
That's product-launch / tech PR. Either translate by hand:
GET /v1/datasets/pro_services/search?filter=service_provided:public-relations+(tech OR startup)+(launch OR series-b)&limit=10
…or hand the intent off:
POST /v1/datasets/pro_services/translate-intent
{ "intent": "PR agency to get our Series-B into TechCrunch and trade press" }
If thin, drop the launch/series-b keyword — most tech PR firms run
launches as a default deliverable.
F. Public affairs (state government)
User: "Public affairs firms with state-government experience in California."
GET /v1/datasets/pro_services/search?filter=service_provided:public-relations+"public affairs"+state:CA&limit=10
G. BYO apex list — enrich domains
User pastes 8–20 PR-firm domains:
GET /v1/datasets/pro_services/:apex per domain — free brief
(404 = not in catalog, no charge). Flag misses.
User picks N to fully enrich. POST /unlocks with all of them =
10×N credits, atomic, detail returned.
Re-runs within 30-day TTL are free.
Gotchas
Pin service_provided:public-relations, not industry:pr_comms. The industry value is empty in the live catalog; PR firms sit under adjacent industries. Without the service pin, "tech PR" / "crisis" / "investor relations" keywords leak into general marketing.
Defer to find-marketing-agency for full-service marketing. When PR is one of several service lines (PR + content + paid + social), the marketing-agency skill is the right fire.
Sub-types are keyword-only. Multi-word sub-types split into ANDed barewords unless quoted (investor relations → investor AND relations; "investor relations" → one phrase).
"Write me a press release" / "draft talking points" is do-the-work. Refuse and offer to find a firm if the user wants to engage one.
Influencer marketing is NOT PR. Influencer marketplaces (Aspire, Grin) and influencer outreach are paid-media work; defer to find-marketing-agency or refuse for marketplace product questions.
PR-software comparisons (Cision, Muck Rack, Prowly) are NOT procurement.
Briefs DO include apex, name, location, ratings. They DON'T include url, phone_primary, email_primary, legal_name, address_full, full platforms — those require an unlock.
not_found / not_in_dataset 404 = not in pro_services. Not charged. Skip.
Unlock is atomic. 5 apexes either all charge (up to 50 credits) or none charge on 402.
