Create Detailed, SMART Rocks with AI-Assistance from Maz
How Maz, our AI assistant for Ninety, can help you create Rocks that progress your company towards its goals.
Written by Tommy Mains
Updated at October 22nd, 2025
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Table of Contents
In this article, you'll learn how to:
- Use Maz to create Rocks using the SMART methodology in 5-10 minutes.
- Align your Rocks with company goals and 90os principles.
- Insert AI-generated Rock details directly from your conversation with Maz.
Prerequisites for Using Maz to Create Rocks
To use this feature:
- Your company must have a Thrive-level subscription plan.
- You need to have Owner, Admin, Manager, or Managee permissions.
- Coaches can also use this feature to create Rocks for other users (Coaches cannot own or be assigned items in Ninety).
Before you begin, it may be beneficial to ensure you have a clear understanding of your team's quarterly priorities.
How to Create a SMART Rock with Maz (AI Assistance)
This AI-assisted feature is a collaborative experience. Throughout the process, Maz connects with your data in Ninety, asks you questions, and requests additional information as needed.
You should expect to spend 5-10 minutes building a SMART Rock with milestones.
Your completed goal will move from the Maz chat window to a Rock in Ninety after you click the Insert Rock Details button, which appears at the end of this process.
When creating a Rock with AI assistance, Maz will bring in the data of the user assigned to the Rock before clicking Help me draft a SMART Rock.
For example, if you and your team leader are working together on your Rocks while the leader is signed into Ninety, they can select you as the user assigned to the Rock before bringing Maz into the conversation.
You can get started with creating a new Rock from several areas of our platform. I'll cover each in the tabs below.
Using the Create Button
To create a Rock with Maz from the create button:
- Begin the new item flow. Click the Create button at the top right corner of the page. Then, select Rock from the Create dropdown, assign a user, and select a team from the Team dropdown.
- Bring Maz into the conversation. Click Help me draft a SMART Rock (as shown in the image).
- Build your Rock through a conversation with Maz. Answer each question with as much detail as possible, then press Enter or click the send icon. Continue the discussion with Maz until you're satisfied with the results.
- Complete the process. Click Insert Rock details to populate the title, description, and milestones.
Tip: This is a collaborative experience. You can request assistance or ask Maz questions anytime (such as, “What are our 1-year goals?").
From the Rocks Tool
You can use Maz to help you draft a SMART Rock when adding Rocks to a user's list in the Rocks tool. Here's how:
- Navigate to the Rocks tool. Click Rocks from the left navigation and select the intended team from the Team dropdown.
- Add a Rock to a user's list. Click Add Rock at the bottom of a team member's Rocks list.
- Launch Maz's SMART Rock assistant feature. Click Help me draft a SMART Rock in the new row to launch Maz and begin the process.
- Create your new SMART Rock. Answer each question with as much information as possible as Maz guides you through the Rock creation process. Continue the discussion with Maz until you're satisfied with the results.
- Complete the process. Click Insert Rock details to populate the title, description, and milestones.
Creating a Linked Rock
One of the most common ways to create Rocks is by creating a linked Rock from an existing item in Ninety. This often involves creating a Rock from an Issue your team is discussing. You can use Maz to help you turn that item into a SMART Rock. Here's how:
- Create a Linked Rock. Access the more options menu of a To-Do, Issue, Headline, or Rock by right-clicking it or clicking the ellipsis at the end of its row. Then, click Create linked Rock from the options shown.
- Assign the Rock's owner. Since Maz is personalized to a user's profile in Ninety, assign an owner of the Rock before starting the Maz process. To assign a user, click the profile icon in the Create Rock window, uncheck the current owner, and click the checkbox next to intended user.
- Bring Maz into the conversation. Click Help me draft a SMART Rock (as shown in the image).
- Build your Rock through a conversation with Maz. Answer each question with as much detail as possible, then press Enter or click the send icon. Continue the discussion with Maz until you're satisfied with the results.
- Complete the process. Click Insert Rock details to populate the title, description, and milestones.
How to Start a New Conversation with Maz
To start a new conversation, click the new chat button (
) and click through the confirmation to clear the chat history and start fresh.
While starting a new conversation will delete the previous one, Maz will remember the ongoing discussion if you need to close it out or step away for any reason. If you exit the chat and return, you'll be prompted to continue the previous conversation or start a new one.
While creating a Rock with Maz for a teammate, we will not save the chat history to maintain privacy. So, if you're logged into Ninety and creating a Rock with Maz for someone else, you'll need to complete the process and insert the Rock before closing the Maz window.
Video Overview
Watch the video below for a quick overview of the SMART Rock assistant feature by Maz, Ninety's AI companion.
What Are Rocks, and How Does Maz Help?
Rocks are the critical quarterly objectives your teams must complete to align with your annual goals and beyond.
We've written extensively about the proven methodologies for creating effective, business-advancing Rocks and why completing 100% of your Rocks is not a helpful benchmark. Instead, your teams should aim for a level of rigor in your goals to expect an 85% success rate (source).
Learn more about our Rocks tool here.
To move beyond theory and into practice, we've trained Maz, Ninety's AI assistant, to guide you step-by-step through creating better Rocks that:
- Align with your Seat/team.
- Follow the SMART goal methodology.
- Improve clarity.
- Create momentum.
Aligning Your Rocks with Company Priorities
Individual Rocks should support your team's or company's Rocks. Before creating your Rocks with Maz, review your organization's quarterly priorities or discuss them with your team to ensure your goals contribute to the bigger picture.
For example, if a company Rock includes launching a new product line, your Rock might be to complete market research for product positioning or train 10 sales team members on new product features.
When to Use Maz in Your Rock Setting Process
Teams typically set Rocks before, during, or shortly after their Quarterly Planning Meetings. You can use Maz whenever works best for you and your team, including:
- Before your quarterly meeting. Draft initial Rock ideas to bring to the discussion.
- After identifying priorities. Once your team or your company's leadership team has agreed on Rock candidates, use Maz to create a Rock for yourself or a teammate.
- During a meeting. You can go through the Rock creation process with Maz during a meeting with a teammate to collaborate in real-time and ensure you have all the information you need.
What Is Maz?
Maz is Ninety's AI-powered interface, which you can use to improve your experience with Ninety, access AI-assistance with tasks (such as creating Rocks), and more as we expand our roadmap.
How Maz Helps You Build Rocks Using the Ninety's BOS
We trained Maz to help you build Rocks following Ninety's business operation system. In addition to connecting your Rock to a company goal, Maz may offer to help align your Rock to strengthening one of the Core Competencies we've identified as essential disciplines that organizations must master to become great companies.
We use the SMART methodology to ensure our Rocks are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.
At the end of the AI-assisted Rock creation process, you'll have a bulleted breakdown showing how the Rock adheres to the SMART methodology.
If your company uses a different business operating system that typically doesn't use SMART goals or reference our Core Competencies, you can still benefit from using Maz to help you build your Rocks.
Helpful Reading on Rocks and Business Goals
Who Can Use the AI Rock Assistant
The SMART Rock assistant is available to all companies on our Thrive subscription plan to users with one of the following roles:
- Owner
- Admin
- Manager
- Team Member/Managee
Currently, users with the Coach role cannot use the feature because it's designed to use your Seat in the company to inform the Rock. Additionally, since Observers cannot create or own items in Ninety, they cannot use Maz to create a Rock.
Frequently Asked Questions
Review some frequently asked questions about our AI Rock assistant below.
Who Can Use the AI Rock Assistant?
The SMART Rock assistant is available to all companies on our Thrive subscription plan to users with one of the following roles:
- Owner
- Admin
- Manager
- Team Member/Managee
- Coach (for other users with one of the above roles)
Will my conversations with Maz be used to train an LLM?
No, Maz does not transfer or retain your chat history for third-party LLM training. Ninety's internal teams may use conversation history with the Rock assistant or other Maz conversations to improve these features for our users.
Currently, it only uses your current session context to help you in the moment. In the future, we will build a memory layer so that Maz can provide personalized interaction in a contextually relevant way.
Is my data safe with Maz?
Yes, Maz is fully integrated within Ninety’s secure environment. It is never used to train a public AI model, for example, your data would never show up in a public product like ChatGPT, nor would it show up to any other Ninety user. All interactions are private to your organization and governed by our existing data security protocols.
When should I use the AI Rock assistant or Maz?
Companies on our Thrive subscription plan can use our Rock assistant feature anytime. Depending on your team's meeting cadence and policies, you could use Maz to draft SMART Rocks before your quarterly meeting to discuss and refine together, or your team may elect Rock candidates during the quarterly meeting, intending to have each user draft Rocks with Maz on their own before the next weekly team meeting.
Do I have access to the AI Rock assistant?
All licensed users in companies subscribed to our Thrive plan have access to Maz's AI Rock assistant feature. If you don't have access, we'll let you know with an in-line message next to the Help me draft a SMART Rock button.
What if I don't see the “Help me draft a SMART Rock” option?
If you don't see the Help me draft a SMART Rock option when creating a Rock, one or more of the following may be true:
- Your company doesn't have access to Maz, which is available to companies on our Thrive subscription plan.
- A team is not selected in the Create window.
- You (the user logged into Ninety) are not selected as the owner of the Rock.
- Your user role prevents you from creating or owning Rocks (Coaches, Coaches, and Observers cannot own items, including Rocks).
Can I edit the Rock after Maz generates it?
Yes, you can edit a Rock created with Maz's assistance just as you would any other item in Ninety by clicking it to open its details panel. From there, you can edit the title, description, due date, milestones, and more.
What if Maz doesn't understand my goal?
Maz is designed to ask clarifying questions. If you feel stuck, try rephrasing your goal or breaking it into smaller components. You can also start a new conversation by clicking the new chat button.
How does Maz know about my company's goals?
Maz accesses your documented Vision, current quarter's company Rocks, and your Seat information in Ninety to provide personalized guidance.