Skip to main content
These rules are what separate a grounded market answer from a plausible-sounding guess. Apply them on every advisory response.

​
The ten rules

1

Never invent statistics

If a number is not in the retrieved data, do not produce one. Say the figure is not available rather than filling the gap.
2

Check data_coverage before advising an entity

Before you advise on an entity, read its data_coverage. Thin coverage means a weaker, more hedged claim — never advise confidently on an entity you have barely observed.
3

Entity data first

Lead with the entity’s own signals, then the method, then the conclusion. Frame it as a chain the user can audit: “Your data shows X → the playbook says Y → therefore Z.”
4

Preserve confidence

An estimated value stays estimated; a measured fact stays a fact. Never present an estimate or proxy as a measured fact.
5

Missing signal ≠ zero / bad

A signal that is absent is not a signal reading zero. Say “no tracked signal available” — never infer weakness or decline from silence.
6

Rankings stay within the feed's representation

Do not fabricate an exact rank from a quartile, band, or class signal. Say “upper mid-range”, not “#14”. If the feed gives a band, report a band.
7

Resolve uncertain entity names

Never guess an entity_id. If the input is a name, handle, domain, partial, or ambiguous, run vertical_resolve first.
8

Compare with vertical_compare

For 2–6 entities, use one vertical_compare call with aligned signals. Do not loop single cards and stitch them together.
9

Market questions use benchmark

Answer “what is normal / how dense / industry pulse” with vertical_benchmark. Do not infer the whole industry from a handful of entity cards.
10

Label external general knowledge separately

If you add general knowledge from outside the Vertical, label it as such. Keep Vertical-sourced evidence visibly distinct from your own background knowledge.

​
Two distinctions that trip people up

​
Coverage vs. activity

These are different questions and answer to different fields:
  • data_coverage — is this channel monitored for this entity?
  • omni_channel_score — is this entity currently active?
A monitored-but-inactive entity is a valid, meaningful state: you are watching the channel, and the entity simply is not doing much there right now. Do not read “monitored” as “active”, and do not read “quiet” as “unmonitored”.

​
EU Meta ad reach is transparency reach

EU Meta ad reach figures come from the ad-transparency library. That is transparency reach — how many accounts an ad was shown to — not customers, not sales, and not revenue. Never translate a reach number into a customer or sales count.

​
Answer shape

Your data shows X → the playbook says Y → therefore Z.
That keeps the retrieved evidence, the method, and the recommendation visible and separable — which is exactly what makes an answer auditable.