ISI CEIC - Introducing AskISI

A connected set, not a single match

Related series arrive together, so you're not assembling the picture manually from separate searches.

Cross-country comparison in one query

Ask for an indicator across a group of markets once, instead of locating it country by country.

Clarity when a query is ambiguous

AskISI helps resolve which measure, geography, frequency or source you actually want — before you open a series.

A lower barrier to the platform

Useful without deep familiarity with CEIC's data tree or taxonomy.

Economist

Start with the question, not the dataset. AskISI helps economists move from idea to evidence faster by discovering relevant indicators across CEIC in a single search.

Commodity Analyst

Discover the data behind commodity stories. AskISI helps analysts uncover the indicators that explain demand trends, supply constraints and shifts across sectors and markets.

Quant Analyst

Find the right data, not just matching data. AskISI helps users navigate alternative measures, sources and methodologies to identify the most suitable series.

Investment Strategist / Discretionary Macro Investor

Turn a market development into a data-driven investigation. AskISI connects investment themes and macro events to the relevant economic evidence across CEIC.

Corporate Market Intelligence Teams

Connect business questions to economic evidence. AskISI helps strategy teams discover the indicators that explain demand, market growth, investment activity and industry dynamics in a target market.

1. Query interpretation

Using natural language processing (NLP), AskISI reads your question, identifies the economic concepts, geographies and time frames involved, and applies safety checks.

2. Series retrieval

It searches CEIC's series metadata for the most relevant matches across the database.

3. Assembly

Related series are grouped, so the result reflects your question rather than a single keyword match.

4. Response generation

The matched series are returned as a set, with source and metadata drawn from CEIC's own records.

5. Delivery

Results link into the platform you already use, where series pages, charting and export work exactly as normal.

APAC Economist, Financial Institution

“AskISI makes finding data more intuitive and efficient – allowing me to ask directly for the data I want. It helps save time, including for requests involving niche data across economies.”

Macro Analyst, Global Investment Firm

“AskISI has been a useful addition to my research workflow, particularly when I need to identify relevant CEIC data series quickly or explore a new macro topic. It reduces the time spent manually navigating the database and can also surface related indicators that may not be immediately obvious. This has made the initial research and data discovery process more efficient and effective.”

Discovery, not generation

AskISI's LLM finds existing CEIC series — it doesn't produce values, forecasts or commentary. Every result is a real series you can open and source-check.

Respects your entitlements

Results may include series outside your subscription. Unsubscribed series appear greyed out by title only — the data itself stays governed by your entitlement.

Adds to your workflow, replaces nothing

Existing search and the data tree stay exactly as they are — AskISI is a new way in, not a replacement for how you already work.

Is AskISI generative AI?

AskISI uses a large language model (LLM) to interpret your question and work out which data answers it — not to generate the answer itself. Everything returned is existing CEIC data retrieved from the database. The model doesn't produce values, series or analysis.

Can it invent numbers or hallucinate?

Not in the data. AskISI doesn't generate values and can't invent a series — every result is a real CEIC series you can open, inspect and source-check as you do today. The numbers always come from CEIC, never from the LLM.

Does it replace the existing search and data tree?

No. It sits alongside them, and nothing is being taken away. If AskISI doesn't return what you need, existing search and navigation work exactly as they do today.

Will it only show me data I'm entitled to?

AskISI searches the full CEIC database to assemble the best answer, which may include series outside your subscription. Unsubscribed series appear greyed out — the title is visible, but the data can't be opened or downloaded.

Is our data used to train the model, or shared with anyone?

No. User interactions and CEIC content are not used to retrain or fine-tune the underlying model, and there's no external data sharing beyond the secure model API. Data in transit is encrypted, and access is role-based and logged for audit.

Can AskISI be turned off for my organization?

Yes. Reach out to your account manager and it can be disabled for your organization, or for named users.