In short
Data journalists turn tables into stories. Verbatim’s agents read your spreadsheets and reports, run the calculations and tie every figure to its cells. The Checking agent checks every figure in the story against its source, in your documents and on the web. VerbatimAgent equips one journalist, and VerbatimOS equips a whole newsroom.
A data story combines spreadsheets, reports and interviews with experts. One figure put into words wrongly damages the credibility of the whole newsroom. Verbatim ties every figure to its source, from the spreadsheet to the published sentence.
Your data files
The Reading agent reads XLSX, XLS, ODS, CSV and TSV spreadsheets, and reports in PDF or DOCX, scans included. It finds a passage by its meaning and returns the exact excerpt, with its page. It reads tens of thousands of pages. The Research agent adds what it finds on the web and in public registers.
Calculations tied to their cells
Tables, charts and calculations stay tied to their sources. Every figure the agents compute points back to the cells that produced it. In a project on safety at a plant, the sentence “Safety spending fell by 43% between 2020 and 2023” points to cells B2 and B5. A figure announced at a press conference but missing from the accounts is flagged. Tables and charts follow your house template.
Every figure in the story, checked
The Checking agent checks every fact in the story, figures included, against the exact excerpt. It looks for the source that supports it, in your documents and on the web. Each claim receives a status: Supported, Contradicted, Not found or Checking. A contradicted or outdated figure is flagged. An analysis, an opinion or a figure of speech never receives a fact status.
Interviews with experts
Import the recording of an interview, or click “Start live”. Verbatim separates the voices and timestamps each passage. Quotes are copied word for word and linked to the transcript. When an expert gives a figure that your data contradicts, the proof appears while they are still talking.
Monitoring and audit trail
The Monitoring agent follows official publications, public registers and the sites you add, day and night. When a source publishes new data or revises a figure in your project, you hear about it, with the excerpt. Verbatim records the origin of every line: the journalist, the AI or a source. When a figure is challenged, you know who wrote it and where it comes from.
Questions
Should I choose VerbatimAgent or VerbatimOS?
VerbatimAgent equips one journalist, from €49.95 a month, VAT included. VerbatimOS equips a whole newsroom with the desk: built-in CMS, story assignment, work-in-progress tracking and the approval queue. It costs €109 to €249 a month. A data team inside a newsroom is better served by VerbatimOS.
Do the agents run the calculations?
Yes. The agents calculate changes, totals and ratios. Every result points back to the cells that produced it.
Which file formats does Verbatim read?
XLSX, XLS, ODS, CSV and TSV spreadsheets, PDF and DOCX reports, scans, emails and recordings.