Data Sources
Tako generates Knowledge Cards using data from three main sources:
- The Tako Index (our structured knowledge graph)
- Web Search
- Developer-provided data
1. Tako Index
Tako’s Index is built with structured data we source exclusively from authoritative providers. We define “authoritative” by asking:
“Would people with opposing views still rely on this source to make key financial, strategic, or policy decisions?”
If the answer is yes, we consider that source credible and worth including. Sources range in type and motivation:
- Public & Government Sources publish data to fulfill open data requirements often enshrined in policy or law (e.g. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics for inflation data).
- Think Tanks, NGOs, and Academic Institutions publish data as part of their public service obligations (e.g. Stockholm International Peace Research Institute for military spending).
- Traditional Data licensors & Information Services Companies make money by selling raw data and/or sell subscriptions to apps for viewing data (e.g. S&P Global for earning estimates).
- Non-Traditional Data Providers generate valuable data as an incidental byproduct of their core business, then publish it to drive awareness (e.g. Redfin for US real estate trends).
Every card built from the Tako Index includes citations, methodologies, and As Of times that indicate when the data was last checked. If something looks wrong or unclear, we want to hear from you.
Current coverage: We currently focus on finance, macroeconomics, geopolitics, sports, and weather - but we’re expanding. If there’s a dataset you want us to support, please let us know.
2. Web Search
The web offers a vast amount of information. Sometimes, it’s the best available source for answering a knowledge question. But it also includes data that can be biased, outdated, or unreliable. In cases where authoritative data isn’t available or the best fit, a well-qualified web answer can still be better than no answer at all.
To handle web-sourced information, Tako generates Citation Cards - a special type of knowledge card. These cards use language models to summarize relevant web content into a concise, shareable format. Each Citation Card includes clear source links and caveats so users can assess credibility and decide how to use the information.
3. Bring Your Own Data
Developers can integrate their own data into Tako in two ways:
Custom Index (Beta)
For enterprise customers, we support building private, custom indexes so you can surface them in your natural language apps and workflows (e.g. internal chatbot). This enables semantic search, analysis, and knowledge card generation over your proprietary data.
Quick Insertion (Beta)
Pass structured data at query time, and Tako will attempt to visualize it directly in a knowledge card. You can also combine it with data from the Tako Index (e.g. “compare my sales vs. Hilton’s stock price”) to generate side-by-side insights.