What Verification + LLM Quality Scoring Tell You About an Athlete | Harmonia
How to vet affiliates on Harmonia: every athlete is curated, identity-verified through Stripe Connect KYC, and LLM quality-scored. The scores are sortable signals, never a gate.
To vet affiliates on Harmonia you read three trust signals on every athlete: curation, identity, and a quality score. Every athlete is hand-picked into the launch cohort by admin invite, identity-verified through Stripe Connect KYC, and given an LLM quality score plus a click quality score. The scores rank a long list so the strongest fits rise to the top. They never gate an athlete, reverse a commission, or trigger a clawback. You make the approval call, and the athlete has to accept your program back. Below: what each signal means and how to use it without letting a number decide for you.
The three signals on every athlete
Every athlete reaches your list having already cleared two checks and carrying one set of scores. Here is what each one confirms, and what it deliberately does not.
| Signal | What it confirms | What it does not do |
|---|---|---|
| Curated | The athlete was invited into the launch cohort by an admin, so the catalog is hand-picked, not an open marketplace. | It does not vouch for fit with your brand. You still decide. |
| Identity-verified | The athlete cleared Stripe Connect KYC. Stripe confirmed who they are. | It does not rate quality. It confirms identity only. |
| Quality-scored | An LLM quality score on audience and fit, plus a click quality score on traffic health over time. | It is not a gate and not an automatic clawback. A low score never blocks anyone. |
For the wider picture of why a hand-picked list beats an open one, see curated vs open affiliate marketplaces.
Curated: a hand-picked cohort, not an open marketplace
During the launch cohort, athletes join by admin invite only. The invite is a single-use, 32-character link, bound to one email address, that expires after 30 days. The list you browse is hand-picked, so every profile has already cleared that step. Open signup turns on later, once the platform is multi-brand live.
Curation sets the baseline. It does not vouch for fit with your brand. That part is still your call, paired with the athlete's own choice to join. To search and filter the list, see finding and recruiting athletes.
Identity-verified: Stripe Connect KYC and the verified badge
A verified partner cleared identity verification through Stripe Connect KYC. Stripe confirmed who they are and holds their ID and bank details. Harmonia never sees an athlete's SSN or bank information, and neither do you.
The Verified badge confirms identity only. It does not rate quality, and it is separate from the quality score.
Verification gates payout, not browsing
An athlete can apply to your program before they finish KYC. They cannot be paid until Stripe clears them. Browsing and applying are unblocked; only the payout step is gated by verification.
Quality-scored: two signals, two jobs
Each athlete carries two scores you can sort by. They measure different things and answer different questions.
- LLM quality score reads the athlete's audience and fit at the profile level. It answers "who does this athlete reach?"
- Click quality score reads traffic health over time, such as how varied the clicks are and how the conversions hold up. It answers "is the traffic healthy?" See click quality score for the full definition, and reading traffic quality signals for how to read it on a profile.
Both are signals. Neither one approves, blocks, or pays anyone. They help you rank a list so you spend your time on the strongest fits.
LLM quality score vs click quality score
| LLM quality score | Click quality score | |
|---|---|---|
| What it reads | Audience and fit, from the profile | Traffic health over time |
| Question it answers | Who does this athlete reach? | Is the traffic healthy? |
| When it updates | When the profile changes | On a recurring schedule, as clicks and conversions come in |
| What it is | A sortable signal | A sortable signal |
| What it is not | A gate or a clawback | A gate or a clawback |
No score ever decides for you
The click quality score is easy to misread, so here is exactly what a score does and does not do. The same rule covers the LLM quality score.
- It sorts. A higher score moves an athlete up your list. A lower score moves them down. That is the whole job.
- It does not gate. A low score never blocks an athlete from applying to your program or from being approved.
- It does not clawback. A low score never reverses a commission an athlete already earned. Commissions reverse only on a refund inside the program's refund window, and then only pro-rated.
- It does not decide. You read the profile and make the call. The number saves you time on a long list. It does not replace your judgment.
A low score is not a clawback
No quality score reverses a payout on its own. A commission reverses only when a customer's order is refunded inside the program's refund window, and then only pro-rated. The scores are sorting signals, full stop.
Two-way veto: a match is a mutual choice
Every match needs two yeses. That is why no score is ever a gate: a number cannot make a match, two people do.
- You approve. You pick the athletes who fit your brand and approve their applications.
- The athlete accepts. The athlete reviews your program, including the commission you set, and chooses whether to join.
- Either side can pass. A decline is a decision for now, not a permanent block. New programs and new fits come up over time.
The signals feed this decision; they never make it. For the full process, including how to read every signal on a profile, see the brand help article on verified and quality-scored partners and the running a curated affiliate program guide.
What a match costs you
Before you approve anyone, you know exactly what a match costs. You set the commission per program, as a flat dollar amount or a flat percent. The athlete receives that full amount.
$50commission you set (athlete keeps in full) $1020% platform fee, billed to you on top $60your total cost per saleYou set the commission. Say $50 per sale. Your athlete receives the full $50. We add a 20% platform fee, $10, on top, billed to you. Your total cost is $60. The fee is charged only when an athlete drives a real attributed sale, never deducted from the athlete's payout.
FAQ
How are athletes vetted on Harmonia?
Three layers. Every athlete is curated into the launch cohort by admin invite, identity-verified through Stripe Connect KYC, and given an LLM quality score plus a click quality score. Stripe holds the ID and bank details, so Harmonia never sees an athlete's SSN or bank information, and neither do you. The scores are sortable signals you use to rank a list, never automatic gates. You make the approval call, and the athlete has to accept your program back. To browse and filter that list, see finding and recruiting athletes.
Does a low quality score block an athlete?
No. The LLM quality score and the click quality score are sortable signals, not gates. A low score never blocks an athlete from applying, never reverses a commission, and never triggers an automatic clawback. It moves an athlete down a sorted list so you can decide. You make the final call.
What does the verified badge mean?
A Verified badge means the athlete cleared identity verification through Stripe Connect KYC. Stripe confirmed who they are and holds their ID and bank details. The badge confirms identity only. It does not rate quality, and it is separate from the quality score. Verification gates payout, not browsing, so an athlete can apply to your program before Stripe clears them but cannot be paid until it does.
What does the LLM quality score measure?
The LLM quality score reviews the athlete's audience and fit at the profile level. It is a read on who the athlete reaches, not on click traffic. It is one sortable signal among the trust signals on a profile, never an automatic gate or clawback.
Is the click quality score the same as the quality score?
No. They measure different things. The LLM quality score reads the athlete's audience and fit from their profile. The click quality score reads traffic health over time, such as how varied the clicks are and how conversions hold up. Both are sortable signals you can rank by, and neither one ever blocks or pays anyone.