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The International Society of Automation (ISA) is a 501(c)(3) standards development organization representing automation and cybersecurity professionals across industries. Founded in the 1940s and headquartered near Raleigh, North Carolina, ISA’s business is built on intellectual property: the standards and technical content it develops and licenses. That made the organization especially thoughtful about the ramifications of its employees experimenting with public AI tools.
Jason Wampler, Managing Director of IT at ISA, led the search for an enterprise AI platform that could give the team the productivity benefits of AI without putting ISA’s content portfolio at risk. After evaluating public AI tools like ChatGPT and Claude, as well as Microsoft Copilot and other competitors, ISA chose GoSearch. Here’s how the platform became a secure knowledge layer across ISA’s tools, powering search, AI chat, and a growing set of automated agents.
Why did ISA look for an alternative to public AI tools?
ISA’s IT team started noticing staff turning to public AI models for everyday tasks like drafting content and answering questions. For an organization whose value proposition rests on its intellectual property, that was a risk Wampler couldn’t ignore. He began looking for an AI platform that could work securely within ISA’s existing tools while keeping its content portfolio protected.
ISA first tried a competing platform to GoSearch, but it couldn’t integrate with the mix of tools ISA already relied on.
“We’re a blended Microsoft shop along with other tools, and GoSearch had the connectors to match. Privacy and security led the way too, ahead of every competitor we looked at.”
—Jason Wampler, Managing Director of IT at ISA
ISA also looked at Microsoft Copilot, given its existing investment in Teams and Outlook. At the time, Copilot’s connector library couldn’t match what GoSearch offered out of the box.
“When we started looking at internal tools, Copilot didn’t have as many connectors as we needed. With GoSearch, it checked every box. Teams, Outlook, Slack, Box, SharePoint, the list goes on. It was click connect, click connect. A no-brainer.”
—Jason Wampler, Managing Director of IT at ISA
ISA also considered enterprise plans from ChatGPT and Claude, but found that as a smaller nonprofit, it didn’t have the negotiating leverage or direct access to product and support teams that GoSearch offered.
How does GoSearch’s security model compare to what ISA evaluated elsewhere?
Given ISA’s role in the cybersecurity standards space, security wasn’t a nice-to-have. Wampler needed controls that went beyond organization-wide permissions, down to group, job function, and individual levels, so AI tools wouldn’t surface sensitive information to the wrong people.
“GoSearch had already thought through least-privilege access before we even asked. If I don’t have the privileges to see something, I don’t see it. I’ve tried every way to break it and I can’t.”
—Jason Wampler, Managing Director of IT at ISA
How does ISA use GoSearch for search, chat, and agents?
ISA’s finance and IT teams use GoSearch’s enterprise search function daily, pulling up vendor tax forms, billing codes, and other documents scattered across SharePoint, Box, and email in seconds rather than digging through folders manually.
ISA has also built custom agents, including an HR assistant that answers employee questions about PTO, benefits, and more without routing every query through the HR team. Another agent was built from transcripts of ISA’s conference sessions.
GoSearch’s AI chat also helps ISA generate working documents on the spot, turning a request straight into a formatted Word doc, Excel file, or the content for a PowerPoint deck.
ISA is now piloting workflows using an MCP-connected agent tied to its third-party ticketing system, so employees can ask GoSearch to check the knowledge base for a fix before opening an IT ticket.
“I’ve got an agent built directly to our systems through MCP. I don’t have to go to twelve different systems for one thing anymore. My one system can be GoSearch.”
—Jason Wampler, Managing Director of IT at ISA
Wampler sees agents as the piece that’s cutting down how many places his team has to check for information.
What was onboarding like for ISA?
Wampler described the setup process as fast and largely self-directed.
“The onboarding process was ridiculously easy. I had everybody in within about ten minutes. Once people know it’s available and see what it actually connects with, they’re amazed by it.”
—Jason Wampler, Managing Director of IT at ISA
Since then, Wampler says GoSearch has become a daily hub. Custom homepage shortcuts, calendar integration, and the daily pulse cards now give his team a single starting point each morning instead of checking status updates across a dozen separate tools.
What has ISA’s experience been working with the GoSearch team?
Wampler pointed to responsiveness as a standout part of working with GoSearch, especially compared to larger AI vendors where ISA felt too small to get direct attention.
“I’m not going to get Sam Altman to listen to me. But I can talk to the GoSearch team, and if it’s not fixed by later that day, it’s usually fixed by the next morning.”
—Jason Wampler, Managing Director of IT at ISA
He also noted that feature requests, including tweaks to the daily pulse cards, have made it into product updates within weeks rather than sitting on a roadmap indefinitely.
Would ISA recommend GoSearch?
Wampler recommends GoSearch for organizations of any size looking to unify their search across connected tools and apps, not just nonprofits or standards bodies. He points to the platform’s granular, least-privilege security model as a fit for any security-conscious organization, along with its ability to scale from a proof of concept to full deployment without a heavy lift from IT.
“It’s a great tool for any size organization looking to connect its infrastructure and SaaS platforms into one place. Search is just the first step, because now you’ve got AI plugged into everything. This is the next wave of how people are going to work.”
—Jason Wampler, Managing Director of IT at ISA
About GoSearch
GoSearch is an agentic enterprise search platform that connects your company’s knowledge, apps, and business systems in one secure layer. Teams can search across 100+ workplace apps, chat with AI, build custom agents, and automate multi-step workflows without switching between tools.
With granular permissions, least-privilege access, and support for MCP, GoSearch helps organizations put AI to work across their existing tech stack without compromising security or control.
Book a demo to see how GoSearch works with your team’s AI strategy.
Search across all your apps for instant AI answers with GoSearch
Charlotte O'Donnelly is Senior PMM at GoLinks, GoSearch, and GoProfiles, where she leads positioning and GTM for enterprise AI products redefining how organizations find, access, and act on institutional knowledge. A 3x founding PMM with 9 years spanning PLG and enterprise sales, she specializes in bringing AI-native products to market — aligning teams around messaging that drives activation, expansion, and revenue.
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