Custom verticals
Kernel allows you to classify your accounts based on a custom schema
By defining custom verticals in your CRM via Kernel, you move from broad, generic tags like “Professional Services” to deeply meaningful segments—think “Corporate Law Firms” or “HealthTech Scale-Ups”—that mirror exactly how your product wins. Kernel’s custom vertical classification engine crawls websites, LinkedIn profiles and business models, applies inclusion and exclusion logic, and surfaces transparent reasoning behind each assignment. This means your outbound lists, territory maps and automation workflows are no longer built on noisy, low-signal industry buckets, but on precision segments that match your ICP
Here’s a clear, customer-facing How It Works section based on Kernel’s approach to vertical modeling, hierarchy, and definition-driven outputs:
How It Works
Kernel lets you structure your GTM world using main verticals and sub-verticals that follow a clean, logical hierarchy. A main vertical captures the broad market category you care about—such as Healthcare, Financial Services, or Education. Beneath each one, you can define sub-verticals with far more precision, like Digital Health Platforms, WealthTech Advisories, or EdTech SaaS. This hierarchical model tells Kernel exactly how to classify accounts, ensuring every company is evaluated against the right context.
To power accurate assignments, each vertical and sub-vertical can include clear definitions, inclusion rules, and exclusion criteria. Kernel uses these definitions to tailor the classification output: it reads websites, mission statements, product descriptions, and signals from across the web, then maps them against your rules. When a company fits multiple areas, Kernel follows your hierarchy to determine the best match and provides transparent reasoning so teams always understand why an account landed in a specific vertical.
The result is a structured, consistent, and explainable vertical system that mirrors how your business thinks about the market—unlocking sharper segmentation, cleaner enrichment, and higher-confidence GTM decisions.
Configuration
Custom verticals can be configured within the Kernel App. You can see the schema, conditional sub-verticals and give detailed descriptions on precisely what constitutes an account fitting this vertical.
Our solutions engineering team offer support in testing during the implementation program to ensure your schema is effective and applied to all your accounts.
Pre Implementation
To implement custom verticals quickly during we recommend spending time defining the schema you want to achieve. For each sub-vertical it helps with classification when there are clear definitions on what is/isn't defined as fitting. This helps our models to better distinguish edge cases that you want to fit the nuance of your schema. We will also assist in ensuring your schema is MECE (Mutually Exclusive, Collectively Exhaustive) where possible.
Demonstration
To configure your custom verticals within the Kernel Platform, the video below can be used as a guide. For additional support, you should work directly with your dedicated Solutions Engineer
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