An AI analyst for economic data.
When a release you follow comes out, FredLens checks the numbers and AI explains them in plain English on Telegram or email, a few seconds later. It's built on Claude by Anthropic, and every figure is verified against the source.
The figures are made up. In this demo the message comes from a template; the real brief is written from the actual release.
Move the slider and press Release.
A normal week, in three messages.
You don't open an app. FredLens writes when something happens, and stays quiet when nothing does.
Employers added 142,000 jobs, more than last month's 118,000. Unemployment slipped to 4.1%. Healthcare did most of the hiring.
The 10-year yield closed at 4.32%, above the 4.30% line you set. It's up 14 basis points since last Tuesday.
Three of your six indicators moved. Inflation and the 10-year went up, unemployment went down. Next week: retail sales on Wednesday, the Fed on Thursday.
Four seconds, from release to brief.
AI writes the words. Code handles the numbers. Keeping those jobs apart is how FredLens stays fast without making things up.
Fetch
The new reading lands on FRED. FredLens pulls it with the revised history, because earlier months often change at the same time.
Compute
Code works out the facts: change from last time, gap to the 3- and 12-month averages, highest or lowest since when, which components moved.
Write
Claude, Anthropic's AI model, gets those facts and nothing else, and writes three or four plain sentences.
Check, then send
Every figure in the draft is matched against the facts. If one is off, the brief is held and rewritten.
- Series
- Consumer prices, 12-month change
- Latest
- 3.1%
- Previous
- 2.9%
- 3-month average
- 2.8%
- Highest since
- 14 months ago
- Top contributors
- Shelter +0.12, energy +0.08
- Core
- Unchanged
- Revisions
- None
Inflation rose to 3.1% from 2.9%, the highest reading in more than a year. Shelter and energy account for nearly all of the increase, while core prices were unchanged. The headline is running hotter than the trend underneath it.
Example with made-up figures.
Ask it back Next
Reply to any brief with a question. FredLens looks the answer up in the data before it writes back, so follow-ups get the same checked numbers.
Rolling out to early users next.
What it watches
These are where most people start. Anything else on FRED can be added.
Usual schedules from the publishing agencies. Exact dates vary.
Why not just read the news?
You can. FredLens is for the releases you care about, explained the same way every time, without waiting for someone to write it up.
What it won't do
AI that writes about money needs hard limits. These are ours.
Tell you to buy or sell
Briefs describe what the data did. They never recommend a trade.
Guess a number
Every figure comes from the release or a calculation on it. Missing data is called missing.
Pass a forecast off as fact
Anything about what usually comes next is labelled as such and kept apart from what happened.
Hide its source
Each brief links to the exact FRED series behind it.
Skip revisions
When earlier months are revised, the brief says so, and by how much.
Sell your data
We keep your email and your watchlist. Nothing else, and it isn't shared.
Questions
Anything else: [email protected]
Where does the data come from?
From FRED, the economic database run by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. It holds hundreds of thousands of series from agencies like the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Bureau of Economic Analysis and the Treasury.
How fast is a brief?
On release days FredLens checks for new data continuously, and a brief usually goes out within seconds of the release appearing on FRED. FRED can take a few minutes to publish after the official release.
Which AI writes the briefs?
Claude, made by Anthropic. It writes the sentences but doesn't supply the numbers; those are computed in code and checked again before sending.
Can a brief be wrong?
Figures are checked against the data, so none should be invented. Data can still be revised later, and an explanation can miss nuance. Every brief links to its source.
Is this investment advice?
No. FredLens explains public economic data. It doesn't tell you what to do with your money.
Can I add series that aren't listed?
Yes. Anything on FRED can go on your watchlist, from state unemployment rates to mortgage rates.
What does it cost?
Nothing during early access. Paid plans come later, and early users hear about them well in advance.
Where do briefs arrive?
Telegram and email today. Slack is next.
Where it's going
Early users decide the order.
- Briefs for the major U.S. releases
- Any FRED series on your watchlist
- Your own alert levels
- Weekly recap
- Telegram and email
- Follow-up questions in chat
- Slack
- Briefs in more languages
- Alerts in plain words, like "tell me if inflation surprises"
- Shared watchlists for teams
- Markets outside the U.S.
Early access
We're letting people in a few at a time, and it's free while we do. Tell us which indicators you follow.