Q: Is this program free?
A: Yep, it's free. There are no charges for using Sage for editorial research purposes for qualifying media organizations, as part of our long-standing commitment to supporting journalism. However, CivicScience reserves the right to change the program rules in the future. We do ask that once accepted, participants in the free Sage program maintain membership in CivicScience's media mailing list, which includes weekly news updates from our research team on trending topics. But that's it.
Q. What sorts of questions can I ask Sage?
A. Just phrase your question in a conversational manner in English or one of 100 other languages the system understands. CivicScience polls on topics that span the gamut of popular culture, news, commerce, health, leisure, and many other topics. Here is a sampling of recent questions that we launched to which Sage can provide detailed analysis:
- To what extent do you agree or disagree that artificial intelligence will likely lead to widespread job losses in the coming years?
- Are you surprised that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended his presidential campaign?
- How concerned are you about your pets' safety in cold weather?
- Have you ever had to switch doctors because you didn't like the way they were practicing?
- When, if at all, was the last time you shopped at the following retailers?
- When shopping for alcohol (beer, wine, spirits), what is more important to you: brand or price?
- How, if at all, do you shop sustainably?
- What's your opinion of Renée Rapp?
Within Sage, responses to these questions can be filtered in many dimensions, such as age, gender, household income, geography, time, and education. Questions also can be cross-tabulated against each other (e.g., people who buy EVs and workers looking to retire shortly).
CivicScience's research team also regularly publishes articles based on our polling.
Q: Once I'm a member of the program, how can I get help?
A: There are many other help articles in the CivicScience knowledgebase (this being one of them). If you don't see the answer to your question, then contact our Sage support team.
Q: Are there any restrictions on how I can use the data?
A: The data can only be used for editorial purposes and cannot be resold or resyndicated without our prior approval. CivicScience permits royalty-free publication of all Sage-related data provided that it is clearly attributed to us.
Q: Where is this data collected?
A: CivicScience interacts with more than half a million American consumers every day on thousands of websites where our polling units are published. All respondents affirmatively consent to their participation in these polls. At present, we only survey consumers in the United States, and our data stretches back to 2012 for a number of our tracking questions.
Q: How is Sage different from ChatGPT?
A: While Sage uses OpenAI's GPT technology to understand user queries and formulate plain-English responses, Sage relies only on verified CivicScience data to form its responses. This eliminates common generative AI issues such as hallucinations and also ensures high levels of veracity, as CivicScience data has been trusted by Global 2000 companies for more than a decade. However, because our database of more than 600,000 questions doesn't cover every topic, Sage will provide the closest match to the user's query and may not always be able to completely answer a question. We feel that a trustworthy answer grounded by our data, even if on a related topic, is superior to a more on-point standard GPT response driven by OpenAI-gathered data of unclear provenance and accuracy.
However, we are adding hundreds of new questions every day, and use Sage users' queries to fill in the gaps in our coverage. So, if we don't have a specific answer now, it's likely we'll have one in the near future.
Q: How many users can my company sign up for?
A: We are limiting this program to three users per company. If you would like more journalists to use Sage, we offer free unlimited access, including access to the InsightStore (which includes our entire national question library), for publishers who place our polling units on their sites and collect a minimum number of monthly responses. Please contact our media partnership team at MediaPartners@CivicScience.com for more information.
Q: Can I tie Sage into my newsroom's Slack or Microsoft Teams systems?
A: These integrations are available free of charge for media partners that participate in our polling program.
Q: What if people who are not journalists want to use Sage?
A: All employees of media partners who participate in our polling program receive free access to both Sage and the InsightStore. For other potential users, here is a link to the Sage sign-up page, where monthly subscriptions to the platform can be purchased.
Q: How do I end my subscription?
A: You can manage your free Sage subscription from our customer portal or by contacting support.
Q: What if I have questions that aren't answered here?
A: Please contact our media partnership team at MediaPartners@CivicScience.com for more information about the program, and our Sage support team for questions about Sage itself.