So the first time I went to try out the market insights beta…let’s just say it did not go so well. But as with any trial or beta release product it takes time to tweak and work out the initial kinks. So, today is a new day and I am happy to report that i not only have able to try out the service and use it for a couple of weeks, but i also am enjoying the free preview. Let’s cover what the service is and what to expect.
So what the Market Insights service?
Market Insights is a new experience that provides email alerts containing news and insights based on US web data. It allows you to stay updated on news related to specific topics, emerging trends, and happenings on the internet.
The big idea here from Microsoft is less noise, more relevance, and high-value content delivered to users through a simple interface. The service harnesses the power of Microsoft AI to cherry-pick the most important article, trends, and happenings on a particular topic of interest. This allows you to spend much less time searching for value able information and getting the information delivered to you on your desired schedule.
Microsoft has stated that this application will evolve over time, so we will try to keep this up to date as new features are announced.
Insights will help businesses gain insights based on their topics web activities such as search, social, and other signals in the AI platform. Additional information is coming such as an enhanced road map that is slated to be delivered October 2019.
So how do you access the free preview?
The service is available to trial for free (at the time of this writing), at the following link https://dynamics.microsoft.com/en-us/ai/market-insights/
You will need to sign in to the service with your existing Microsoft login. If you do not have one you can create one, or you have the ability to log in through a couple other social services.
How does insights preview know which topics are relevant to me?
You choose the topics, companies, trends, or overall categories that you might be interested in. As it finds relevant topics on the internet, social media, and news sites and then it will provide them to you on a daily or weekly report format.
All you really have to do is choose an interest and select a topic and select to be alerted when something is trending on the topic.
How is the information delivered to me from the market insights service?
The information is delivered directly to your email inbox from the market insights service on the frequency you have selected for each alert in your insights profile.
How do I set up an alert in market insights preview?
There isn’t really much to it. After you have logged into the market insights you will be greeted with the topic search and selection page. This is where you will type in your topic of interest.
Insights will attempt to guess your interest and if it finds a relevant company, category or topic it will automatically suggest it.
After you have found a topic the only remaining item you have to complete is to determine the delivery frequency of information coming from the market insights service.
For example, if you want to have alerts sent to you daily and like to stay in the know on all things related to the topic each day then most likely the daily option is for you.
If you like a more aggregated report out weekly of the information that is supplied, which in my opinion has a less “spammy” kind of a feel then a weekly email will be the best option to select.
How does the Market insights find up to date and relevant information?
The information is curated and aggregated through Microsoft AI and does a fairly good job finding content I am interested in. I have found information through the trial that I was made aware of earlier than I probably would have found out on my own.
Can market insights provide data about web activity as well?
The service also provides data around related topics (if applicable) and will also provide trending related analysis to determine if there has been :
- a spike in search volume
- a new topic that is emerging
- if the service has noticed a gradual increase
- or a rapid decline in interest in the topic
With the trend analysis data shown above the changes are displayed as a percentage amount (increase or decrease) over time represented as days.
I have noticed that the time intervals are usually different, but that could be related to some topics are only tracked if there has been a recent update to the topic.
What if my topic is very specific or I need to additionally filter results provided through Marketplace Insights?
Insights are able to be filtered additionally through the advanced button once you have a topic set up in the interface. This allows you to curate and select the information that is even more specific and tailored for your needs.
What if i want to stop receiving insights on a particular search term or topic?
You can edit your topics received through the market insights service in a couple of ways. The first way is just to directly sign in to the market insights service.
From the My Alerts screen you will see all the topics that you are currently monitoring. In or to remove a topic, simply click on the recycle bin looking icon to delete the alerts being sent to you about that topic.
You can additionally log into market insights quickly from the email that you are sent as well for that topic. If you look at the bottom of the email it will give you the option to edit the specific alert that you have been sent. You can click on edit topic, then you will be signed into insights and sent directly to the edit section for that topic.
Is there any cost to Market Insights?
At the moment there is not any cost to use and try out the the insights service.
Microsoft has mentioned that more is coming for additional development on the product so until an official RTM (release to market) you can try it out for free.
Can i send my feedback to Microsoft about the insights service?
Yes, the product is still technically in preview mode so you can send your experience that you have had with the service directly to the team at Microsoft. Since the product is in it’s early stages they will be taking feedback to tweak how to deliver the content, getting the content sizing right for companies, and helping improve relevance of content delivered
You will find this option at the bottom of your alert emails that arrive in your inbox there will be an option named “submit feedback”.
This will being up a submission form to help categorize the type of request feedback and allow you to additionally enter contents about what you would like to see in updates for the service.