How Athene works

Athene is the assistant inside the Scoutyx app. Scouts and organisations use it to find athletes by describing them in plain words. Athletes whose plan includes Athene use it for coaching instead (see below). Which plans include Athene is shown on the Plans screen in the app.

Athene uses an AI model to work out what you are asking for. Scoutyx then searches its own athlete profiles. The AI never writes athlete data: every athlete, name and figure on a card comes from a profile. The only text an AI writes about athletes is the short paragraph under a comparison, written from profile figures.

Read more: Terms of Service, section 4: Athene AI

Athene uses OpenAI, so it needs your permission for AI features first. The app asks for it before your first message, and you can withdraw it at any time. If you are under 16, your parent or guardian decides.

Scouts and organisations also need to have verified their email address.

Read more: AI permission and what is sent to OpenAI

Describe the athletes you are looking for in your own words. A search can ask for:

• a sport, and up to four positions;
• an age range, given in numbers ("under 20", "between 18 and 23");
• gender (male or female);
• nationality, or the country where the athlete lives (one of each);
• the dominant foot or hand;
• availability: free agent, under contract or student-athlete;
• body and fitness measurements, such as height or top speed;
• the sport's own skills and statistics;
• how many athletes to show, up to 10.

For example: "Left-footed strikers under 20 in Spain", "Top 5 goalkeepers in France" or "Fast wingers, 180 cm or taller, free agents".

If you name no sport, Athene searches the one sport you follow, or every sport, and says which. A word such as "fast" or "tall" becomes a number, and the reply shows it. Anything Athene cannot apply, such as a competition level or leaving a value out ("not left-footed"), is listed in the reply as not applied, never dropped without a word.

Read more: The match score

With the results on screen, you can carry on in the same conversation:

• narrow or change the search: "only left-footed ones", "older ones", "drop the age";
• open one athlete by their number in the list ("open number 2", "the last one");
• compare two or three of the athletes on screen;
• as a scout, add one or several of them to your shortlist.

When it is not clear which athlete you mean, Athene asks you before it acts. Opening a profile through Athene counts as a profile view.

Athene compares two or three athletes at a time. For each one, the AI receives the sport, position, country, age, dominant side, years of experience and latest season statistics, labelled "Athlete A", "Athlete B" and so on rather than by name, and writes a short comparison. Body measurements and fitness figures are never sent to it.

Athene only compares athletes who have allowed AI features. For anyone else, the app's own side-by-side comparison, which uses no AI, shows the profiles next to each other.

Read more: Privacy Policy, section 3: How we use it

For athletes whose plan includes Athene, it is a coach rather than a search: training, the mental side of competition, general sports nutrition and performance. Its answers are written from the athlete's own messages and their sport, position, age, dominant side and years of experience. Body measurements, fitness figures and injury details are never sent to the AI.

Athene gives information, not medical, psychological or dietary advice. It does not diagnose, it does not suggest medication or supplements, and it does not write personal meal plans. When that is what you need, it points you to a sports-medicine professional, a registered dietitian or another qualified professional.

If a message suggests that someone may be at risk of harming themselves, Athene does not use the AI to answer. It shows a fixed message that points to people and services who can help.

Athene answers in English and in Spanish: in the language you write in, or otherwise in the language the app is set to.

Each account can send Athene a limited number of messages a day and a minute. If you reach a limit, the app tells you to try again later. A message can be up to 2,000 characters long.

Athene can also be paused for everyone for a while. The app then says so, and you can try again later.

Scouts and organisations using a version of the app with an Athene chat history have their chats saved to their account. Athletes' chats with Athene stay on their phone.

Read more: Saved Athene chats