PeopleofSuperintelligence

Public voice

Kai Spriestersbach

Kai Spriestersbach is an applied AI researcher, author and consultant who works with large language models. He ran the SEO consultancy SEARCH ONE from 2012 to 2023, turned to machine learning and natural language processing in 2015, and finished an MSc in Web Science at TH Köln in 2023. His guide Richtig Texten mit KI appeared in May 2023, and from October 2023 to December 2024 he was a guest researcher in the Data Science and its Applications group at RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau and DFKI. In 2025, he co-authored the Stat paper "Had enough of experts?" on quantitative knowledge retrieval from language models and wrote the parents' guide Kluge Köpfchen mit KI with Leonie Lutz. Since January 2026, he is interim Head of AI at ReachX GmbH in Frankfurt.

Now at
AFAIK and ReachX GmbH
Badges
Links
Google Scholar and LinkedIn

Timeline

  1. 2012–2023

    Running the SEARCH ONE consultancy

    From 2012 to 2023, he is owner and consultant of SEARCH ONE in Collenberg, advising on content publishing, SEO, digital marketing and strategy. In 2015, he turns to machine learning and natural language processing.

  2. 2020–2023

    A Web Science master's degree

    After a BSc in E-Commerce at the Technical University of Applied Sciences Würzburg-Schweinfurt from 2012 to 2017, he studies alongside his job for an MSc in Web Science at TH Köln from 2020 to 2023. He completes it with a 1.1 grade.

  3. May 2023

    Richtig Texten mit KI

    In May 2023, mvg Verlag publishes his book Richtig Texten mit KI, a guide to writing with ChatGPT, GPT-4 and other language models that includes more than 100 example prompts. The book sells over 25,000 copies.

  4. October 2023–December 2024

    Guest researcher at RPTU and DFKI

    From October 2023 to December 2024, he is a guest researcher in the Data Science and its Applications research group at RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau and DFKI, for six months as a part-time research associate. He studies generative AI, in particular large language models, in data science applications and supports the master's course Engineering with Generative AI.

  5. Since January 2024

    AFAIK and the Synapsensprung podcast

    In January 2024, he becomes owner of AFAIK in Collenberg, an AI strategy consultancy that offers Head of AI as a Service and builds custom AI workflows, prototypes and products for companies. In 2024, he also starts co-hosting the podcast Synapsensprung with Belén Haefely on technology, philosophy and society.

  6. 2024–2025

    Quantitative knowledge from LLMs

    In February 2024, he appears among the nine authors of the arXiv preprint "Had enough of experts? Quantitative knowledge retrieval from large language models", with David Selby as first author. The work tests LLMs for eliciting prior distributions for Bayesian models and imputing missing data. A related poster appears at the NeurIPS BDU workshop in 2024, and the paper is published in the journal Stat in 2025.

  7. 2025

    Kluge Köpfchen mit KI

    He co-writes the parents' guide Kluge Köpfchen mit KI with Leonie Lutz on using AI safely with children, which Kösel publishes in autumn 2025. In November 2025, Business Insider quotes him in a report on how AI search reshapes SEO and fuels a market for GEO advice, where he warns that side hustlers and snake oil sellers are rushing in.

  8. Since January 2026

    Head of AI at ReachX

    In January 2026, he becomes interim Head of AI at ReachX GmbH in Frankfurt, responsible for AI strategy and transformation, product development, integration and training. In April 2026, mvg Verlag publishes his book Smarter Leben mit KI, which aims to make AI practical for daily life.

Career

  1. Since 2026ReachX GmbHInterim Head of AI
  2. Since 2024AFAIKOwner
  3. 2023–2024RPTU University Kaiserslautern-LandauGuest Researcher and part-time Research Associate
  4. 2023–2024DFKIGuest Researcher and part-time Research Associate
  5. 2012–2023SEARCH ONEOwner and Consultant

Education

  1. 2023TH Köln - University of Applied SciencesMSc in Web Science
  2. 2017Technical University of Applied Sciences Würzburg-SchweinfurtBSc in E-Commerce

From the biography.

  1. Nonprofit roles are 2.3 times as common in AI safetyIncludes DFKI. We estimate where people focused on safety, alignment and evaluation work. Nonprofit roles appear for 25.1% of safety people with known affiliations, compared with 11.0% in other areas.
  2. The top 10 organizations employed 22% of people shaping AI in 2025: 51% of company researchers and 21% of university researchersIncludes DFKI. We estimate the share of people shaping AI who worked at the top 10 organizations each year from 1955 to 2025, comparing concentration across companies, universities, and institutes and labs.
  3. The United States employs an estimated 48% of people shaping AIIncludes DFKI. We estimate where the people shaping AI work today, how universities, companies and research institutes split across countries, and how country shares have changed since the 1960s.
  4. More people shaping AI studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology than at any other institutionIncludes RPTU University Kaiserslautern-Landau. We estimate where the people shaping AI studied and where their careers led. Massachusetts Institute of Technology leads with 467 former students, including 291 recorded doctorates.

Colleagues

People with dated positions at the same organization in the same years.

Sources and credits

Photo: We have no published photo of Kai Spriestersbach yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. Kai Spriestersbach – KI, Forschung und Publikationen afaik.de. Checked 21 October 2026.
  2. Kai Spriestersbach education.omr.com. Checked 21 October 2026.
  3. Kai Spriestersbach — Data Science and its Applications dsa.dfki.de. Checked 21 October 2026.
  4. Kai Spriestersbach (@kaispriestersbach) on Speaker Deck speakerdeck.com. Checked 21 October 2026.
  5. Richtig texten mit KI – ChatGPT, GPT-4, GPT-3 & Co. by Kai Spriestersbach | Goodreads goodreads.com. Checked 21 October 2026.
  6. [2402.07770] Had enough of experts? Quantitative knowledge retrieval from large language models arxiv.org. Checked 21 October 2026.
  7. Kai Spriestersbach - Alle Hörbücher bei Audible.de audible.de. Checked 21 October 2026.
  8. AI Search Reshapes SEO, Fueling GEO Gold Rush - Business Insider businessinsider.com. Checked 21 October 2026.