In short
In Verbatim, the People agent finds the people who know something about your subject. It maps who worked with whom, from your documents, registers and publications. It works out how to reach each person and drafts the message. The message goes out after your review, with the “Review and send” button.
Finding the right person to interview takes time at the start of every story. Verbatim’s People agent does that search for you and keeps each person linked to your projects.
The people who know
The People agent reads the sources in your project and searches the web and public registers. It picks out the people named in your documents and those who have worked on your subject. It ranks them by their link to the project’s open questions. In an investigation into safety at a plant, for example, it finds the former safety manager of one unit. The maintenance log names this person as the author of a report to management.
Who worked with whom
The agent maps professional links: employers, boards, public offices, joint publications and contracts. Each link shows the source that establishes it. In the plant example, the former safety manager worked for six years with the maintenance contractor, who can introduce you.
How to reach them
Each person has a page with three tabs: “Why they know”, “How to reach them” and “Said before”. The agent looks for contact details published for that purpose: the organisation’s website, the person’s own page, an official register. The source of each contact detail is shown. The agent also suggests a go-between, such as a former colleague or a press office. The “Said before” tab gathers the person’s public statements and the quotes from your interviews.
A drafted message, reviewed before it goes
The agent drafts the message and cites the document behind your request. The message waits under “Needs you”, on the Home screen. The “Review and send” button shows what goes out and to whom. You edit the text, then it leaves from your connected email account, Google or Microsoft. Nothing is sent before you review it. When the person replies, Verbatim tells you and asks you to confirm the proposed time. The Prep agent then gathers what they have said before, what the documents show and the questions they will try to avoid.
Your address book and OFF status
The People screen gathers the people from all your projects in one address book. You import your contacts from a CSV or vCard file, or from your Google or Microsoft account. For each project, Verbatim flags the people named in your documents who are missing from your address book. You can set the OFF status on a person, a document or a quote. In Verbatim, OFF means the information can be used without naming the source.
Questions
Does Verbatim find people’s contact details?
Yes, when they are published for people to get in touch: an organisation’s website, the person’s own page, an official register. The source of each contact detail is shown.
Can the agent write to someone on my behalf?
It drafts the message. The “Review and send” button shows you what goes out and to whom. The message leaves from your connected email account, after your review.
What does Verbatim do with personal data?
The People agent sticks to each person’s public and professional role: positions, public offices, publications and public statements. It does not look for home addresses, personal phone numbers or family members. The people found for a project stay in that project, and Verbatim does not share them between accounts. Your data is hosted and processed in Europe.