How to Use doola AI Co-Founder: Step-by-Step Guide for Global E-Commerce Founders

Why do 42% of entrepreneurs say compliance and admin are their biggest roadblocks? 

Because before a founder makes their first sale, they’re already buried under US formation paperwork, IRS rules, tax deadlines, and endless payment setup headaches.

doola AI Co-Founder is here to change this. It’s not just another AI chatbot lost in the noise of 1,000+ generic AI platforms. This is the first AI business assistant built for global e-commerce founders, trained on doola’s own knowledge base plus the best of OpenAI’s tech.

It knows your company, your formation state, your EIN status, and even the exact services you’re using inside doola. 

Today, founders finally have an AI partner that cuts through the complexity, answers questions that matter most, and helps them move from formation to first sale, faster than ever before.

What Is doola AI Co-Founder?

doola AI Co-Founder is your always-on, AI-powered business assistant built directly into the doola dashboard.

It’s designed to cut through the noise and guide you through the hardest parts of launching, running, and scaling a US business, whether you’re selling digital products, building a SaaS platform, or running a fast-growing e-commerce brand.

Here’s what makes it stand out from the sea of generic AI tools:

🚀 Company-Specific

It doesn’t give one-size-fits-all answers. It knows your business entity type, your formation state, your EIN status, and which doola services you’re actively using.

Every response is contextualized for your exact setup, not just generic advice.

🚀 Compliance-Aware

Built on top of doola’s extensive knowledge base, it understands US business law, compliance requirements, tax obligations, and bookkeeping practices.

That means you’re not just getting answers, you’re getting the right answers that keep you compliant.

🚀 Context-Rich

Powered by OpenAI GPT models and supercharged with doola’s proprietary insights, it blends the power of AI with years of domain expertise.

As a result, it offers smarter, faster, and more reliable support than you’d get from Google or a random chatbot.

In short, this isn’t just another chatbot. It’s your AI business partner, tailored for global founders building US-based e-commerce companies.

For entrepreneurs, it’s like having a human co-founder who always knows the rules, the deadlines, and the best practices for your exact business situation.

🔖 Related Reading: What Is doola AI Co-Founder

Who Can Access AI Co-Founder?

The AI Co-Founder is currently in its Phase 1 rollout, meaning it’s exclusive to founders with an active doola subscription.

If you’re subscribed to one of the plans below, you already have access:

Starter Plan

Starter is perfect for getting off the ground with formation and compliance essentials.

And with AI Co-Founder added to the mix, you’ll get clear, simple answers to questions like, “Do I need an EIN as a non-US founder?” or “Which state is the smartest choice for my LLC?”

How many credits are available?

• Includes 25 credits/year (one-time)

• Credits are front-loaded at signup

After credits run out: 

You’ll be prompted to upgrade to Total Compliance or Business-in-a-Box™ for continued access.

Total Compliance (TC)

Designed for founders who want zero stress about compliance, this plan keeps your filings, renewals, and deadlines on track.

With AI Co-Founder added in, you get proactive guidance on:

• State franchise taxes and reporting requirements

• Potential deductions and compliance risks

• Important filing reminders

How many credits are available?

• Includes 150 credits/year (one-time)

• Credits are front-loaded at sign-up

After credits run out: 

You can upgrade to Business-in-a-Box™ for additional access.

Business-in-a-Box (Monthly & Annual)™

This is the all-in-one plan for serious founders who want everything handled: formation, compliance, bookkeeping, tax support, and more.

Add AI Co-Founder, and it’s more than execution: it’s strategy, insights, and a partner that scales with your business.

You can even ask it advanced questions like:

“How can I prepare financials for a seed investor pitch?”

“What’s the smartest way to track recurring revenue for my subscription brand?”

How many credits are available?

• Monthly plan: 25 credits/month (new credits added with each successful payment)

• Annual plan: 250 credits/year (front-loaded)

❌ Not Eligible (yet):

If you’re on Pulse or using standalone services, AI Co-Founder isn’t included. Upgrade to any full plan to unlock access.

Where You’ll Find It 

The AI Co-Founder lives directly inside your doola dashboard, ready whenever you log in. It’s private, secure, and built exclusively for subscribers, so you won’t find it anywhere else or on public-facing platforms.

Key Benefits & Features of AI Co-Founder

With doola AI Co-Founder, founders can finally skip the guesswork and high consulting bills.

Co-Founder is the next era of business support: 24/7, reliable, tailored to your exact journey.

Here are the key features that place it a cut above the other AI tools:

1. Personalized Guidance: AI Co-Founder understands the details that make your company unique, from your business name, EIN, and entity type (LLC, C-Corp, etc.) to your formation state (e.g., Delaware), industry (e.g., e-commerce), and active doola services (Bookkeeping, Tax, E-Commerce Analytics).

2. Knowledge-Powered:  It’s backed by doola’s deep repository of policies, guides, FAQs, and expert-written blogs. That means every recommendation is aligned with doola’s proven best practices, not generic advice pulled from random corners of the internet.

3. Seamless Escalation: When AI hits its limit, you can escalate instantly. With one click on “Contact doola Team” in the chat window, your query and full conversation history are handed over to our support specialists for direct follow-up. 

4. Secure & Private: AI Co-Founder only uses the customer and company data you’ve shared with doola. All information is encrypted both in transit and at rest, and no sensitive data is ever sold to third parties.

5. Actionable Insights: Instead of spending hours researching or second-guessing, you get practical, business-ready answers that help you avoid costly mistakes and move forward with confidence.

With doola AI Co-Founder, you don’t just “get answers”; you gain clarity, direction, and peace of mind.

It’s like having a trusted partner who removes the guesswork, helps you make smarter decisions, and keeps your business moving forward at every stage.

🔖 Related Reading: doola AI Co-Founder: Personalized Business Support for Global Founders

Step-by-Step Guide: How to Use doola AI Co-Founder

Getting started takes just a few clicks, and within minutes you’ll be unlocking insights that usually take hours (or expensive consultants) to access.

Here’s how to unlock its full potential:

Step 1: Log into your doola dashboard

You’ll find Co-Founder right inside your dashboard. You don’t need a separate app or extra logins.

Step 2: Navigate to the AI Co-Founder tab

This is your dedicated space for smart, personalized business support, designed to work in sync with your doola account.

Step 3: Start a new session 

You can go to the chat section and begin your first session. You’ll have 1 credit per session, up to 30 exchanges. It is great for tackling one big problem or a series of smaller, related questions.

Step 4: Key in your questions 

Ask anything across business-critical topics like:

• US company formation

• EIN / ITIN applications

• Taxes & compliance deadlines

• Bookkeeping & analytics

• Payments & processors

Step 5: For additional support, escalate to a human support specialist

Besides specific questions Co-Founder can answer, you may often need additional support, and that’s built right in.

If your query requires a specialist, just type out what you need, hit send, and your entire chat history plus your original prompt get forwarded instantly to our support team.

You’ll immediately see a green confirmation pop-up on your dashboard letting you know the handoff was successful.

Step 6: Track your credit usage 

Your plan determines the number of credits you receive and you can monitor your credit balance at any given time. It shows up at the top right corner of your dashboard (as shown in the image). 

You can scale at your pace, adding credits as you go or move up to a plan built for heavier use.

⚡ doola tip: Save screenshots and session history to build your own archive of answers. Over time, you’ll have a “personalized founder playbook” ready whenever you hit a familiar roadblock.

Plans & Credit System Explained

As covered earlier, every doola plan comes with a specific number of AI Co-Founder credits. These credits help you unlock tailored business insights and support whenever you need them. 

Let’s recap how credits are distributed across the different plans:

📌 Rules to Remember (and How They Work for You)

• 1 credit = 1 session (up to 30 exchanges)

Each session is designed to handle in-depth queries, whether follow-up questions or a detailed conversation on one complex topic.

One credit buys you up to 30 back-and-forth chats with your Co-Founder.

• No manual purchases of credits in V1

In this first version, credits are tied exclusively to your plan.

That means no à la carte credit purchases for now, keeping things simple and streamlined. If you find yourself running low often, upgrading your plan is the way to go.

• Business-in-a-Box™ (BnB) monthly plans reset each month, annual plans get credits upfront.

If you’re on the monthly BnB plan, your credits refresh automatically at the start of every billing cycle.

On the annual BnB plan, you receive all your credits upfront, giving you flexibility to use them at your own pace throughout the year.

What Can AI Co-Founder Help You With?

Scaling in the US goes way beyond selling; it’s paperwork, compliance, setup and everything in between.

doola AI Co-Founder makes it simple by giving you clarity, clearing bottlenecks, and showing you the exact move to make next.

Here are some of the practical wins e-commerce founders unlock with it:

Incorporation: Guidance On Choosing The Right State & Structure

From Day one, you get tailored recommendations based on your target markets, funding plan, and personal location.

And if you’re a non-US founder selling online, AI Co-Founder compares state options, reveals trade-offs (like privacy, annual fees, and banking ease), and leads you smoothly through doola’s formation flow. 

It helps you draft Articles, choose “member- vs manager-managed,” and map the EIN path right after your entity is approved.

📌 Example: If you ask, “What’s the right entity for me?”, Co-Founder considers where you’re based, where you will sell, your funding needs, and then suggests the best state and structure. 

Again, if you want to convert a single-member Wyoming LLC into multi-member, it lays out the step-by-step process in detail as shown in the snippet below:

EIN/ITIN Processes: Step-By-Step Support For Global Founders 

For international founders, getting an EIN or ITIN is often the toughest hurdle, and the one most generic AI tools can’t help with.

AI Co-Founder explains every step, from form selection to required docs, and connects it directly to doola’s filing support. It ensures you don’t miss hidden details, like timelines for IRS approval or whether your country needs extra documentation.

Instead of hours of Googling or combing through scattered forum threads, you get a clear path forward that matches your business setup.

Compliance: Reminders & Explanations of US Tax Deadlines 

While the doola dashboard shows your key dates and deadlines, AI Co-Founder takes it further, turning reminders into clear action steps: what’s due, the fee amount, and how to file. 

It also breaks down state-specific requirements, like annual reports or franchise taxes, and explains registered agent rules so you understand why your business address matters.

Bookkeeping & Analytics: Actionable Tips & Insights

AI Co-Founder gives you tailored insights, like which expenses qualify as deductions for e-commerce founders, how to categorize ad spend, or when to prepare financials for investors. 

It even helps you interpret dashboards, turning raw numbers into takeaways: 

• Are your margins shrinking? 

• Is your CAC too high?

• Are you ready to expand into another state? 

And it’s never generic advice; it’s tied to your doola bookkeeping setup.

Payment Processing: Stripe, PayPal, & Shopify Payments 

When you open bank accounts and plug in Stripe or PayPal, one small mismatch in names or addresses can freeze payouts.

AI Co-Founder cross-checks your saved company data, helps you keep details consistent across bank accounts and processors, and flags mismatches before they become problems. 

It also guides you through adding invoice details, meeting KYC checks, and knowing when you might need local registrations for physical operations.

If something breaks, say Stripe flags an error, it points you to the exact field to fix, instead of leaving you waiting on tickets.

In short, AI Co-Founder isn’t just answering FAQs; it’s like having a CFO, compliance officer, and operations manager rolled into one.

And the best part is, it’s always on, always contextual, and built for your exact business setup, so you can focus on growth instead of admin.

Future Roadmap & Vision: What’s Next for AI Co-Founder?

The doola AI Co-Founder you see today is just the start.

The vision and the way forward is simple yet exciting: an AI that evolves from a smart assistant into a proactive, indispensable member of your founding team, growing in intelligence as your business grows.

Here’s what’s coming next:

1. Smarter Personalization With Real Data

Going forward, Co-Founder will extract and recommend actionable insights from your real-time sales data.

A larger knowledge base will cover operational analytics and financial reporting alongside tax and compliance, letting you ask tougher questions and get concise, smart replies.

Also, Co-Founder will move beyond static details like entity type or formation state. By connecting with your bookkeeping records and e-commerce dashboards, it will:

• Spot revenue patterns and expense trends in real time.

• Highlight potential tax deductions or compliance risks.

• Recommend growth strategies based on your sales channels.

This means sharper insights, tailored forecasts, and advice that adapts as your numbers change.

2. Automated Workflows For Routine Tasks 

From operating agreements to state filings, doola AI Co-Founder will prepare polished, jurisdiction-ready documents on-demand, within seconds.

Soon, Co-Founder will handle routine admin tasks automatically, such as:

• Auto-track and categorize expenses as they happen.

• Generate operating agreements, annual reports, and state filings ready for e-signature.

• Schedule filing reminders and prepare submissions before deadlines sneak up.

It will basically put your filings and compliance on autopilot, so you can focus more on scaling.

3. Plug-&-Play Integrations With Shopify, Stripe & Core Tools

Integrations will get easier, and with one click, founders will get a ready-to-go setup tailored to their business model: synced with payment processors, tax settings, and e-commerce platforms like Shopify or WooCommerce.

Co-Founder will basically help you:

• Configure tax settings automatically.

• Set up payment processors correctly from day one.

• Deliver checkout pages that are ready to sell globally.

So instead of losing days to setup, you’ll go from formation to sales in record time. And it’ll get smarter, faster, and more intelligent as your business scales.

Why E-Commerce Founders Need doola AI Co-Founder Today

We’ve seen founders wasting months on US compliance forms, IRS rules, and endless payment setup, time that should be spent testing products and closing sales. And that lost time is costly.

doola AI Co-Founder changes the game. It’s not a chatbot, not a consultant, and not another tool to juggle. It’s your always-on business partner, built to take you from formation and compliance to first revenue without the roadblocks.

Here’s how it stacks up against DIY approaches and generic AI platforms:

Well, and the results show up in no time: fewer payout holds from KYC mismatches and no more duplicate entries across portals. Just clarity at every stage, confidence that deadlines are met, and momentum toward your first (and next) sale.

With doola AI Co-Founder, you’re not just “getting answers”, you’re accelerating your entire founder journey.

Sign up for our services and unlock AI Co-Founder today, the smartest business partner your e-commerce venture will ever have.

FAQs

What is doola AI Co-Founder and how does it work?

doola AI Co-Founder is a personalized AI business assistant built into the doola dashboard, designed to guide e-commerce founders through formation, compliance, bookkeeping, and payments.

Which doola subscription plans include AI Co-Founder?

Starter, Total Compliance, and Business-in-a-Box (monthly or annual). Pulse customers are excluded unless they upgrade.

How many credits do I get with each plan, and how are they used?

Credits vary by plan (25 to 250). One credit = one session, up to 30 exchanges.

What can AI Co-Founder help me with as an e-commerce founder?

Incorporation, EIN/ITIN processes, compliance deadlines, bookkeeping support, and payments setup.

Is my company data safe when using doola AI Co-Founder?

Yes, all data is encrypted and never sold to third parties.

Does AI Co-Founder replace human support?

No. It supplements it, with seamless escalation to doola specialists when needed.

What’s next for AI Co-Founder? What future features are planned?

Deeper personalization, automated workflows, and integrations with platforms like Stripe and Shopify.