AI-based economic index launched in US

An economic index was launched in the US yesterday using artificial intelligence to analyze “trillions of behavioral signals.”

The Zeta Economic Index uses generative AI to largely focus on consumer activity. It gauges online and offline activity across eight categories to give a comprehensive look that incorporates standard economic data points such as unemployment and retail sales combined with high-frequency information for the AI age.

“The algorithm is looking at traditional economic indicators that you would normally look at. But then inside of our proprietary algorithm, we’re ingesting the behavioral data and transaction data of 240 million Americans, which nobody else has,” David Steinberg, co-founder, chairman and CEO of Zeta Global, told the media.

So instead of looking at the data in the rearview mirror like everybody else, we’re trying to put it out in advance to give a 30-day advanced snapshot of where the economy is going, he said.

The eight verticals the index uses include automotive activity, dining and entertainment, financial services such as credit line expansion, health care, retail sales, technology and travel.

The goal is to provide something more expansive than gross domestic product and similar measures to gauge growth. “This is maybe a more holistic way of really predicting the economy,” Steinberg said.

“We’re really looking at what they’re actually spending. We’re looking at what they’re actually reading and researching,” he added. “We’re seeing all of that information, which allows us to build a better forecast.”