Research Explorer (REX) User Guide

Research Explorer (REX) is an AI research assistant tool integrated directly into the Citylitics platform. REX is designed to accelerate deeper analysis and cut the prep time required for project qualification and key decision-making. By generating detailed project report and account intelligence from trusted public sources, REX provides the data needed to qualify infrastructure opportunities quickly and confidently.

What is Research Explorer (REX)?

REX acts as a specialized lens for public infrastructure data. Unlike a open-source AI tools, it focuses exclusively on the context of your specific opportunity.

• Contextual Awareness: REX understands the specific opportunity you are investigating and filters all findings to remain relevant to that goal.

• Grounded in Official Sources: The tool’s logic prioritizes official municipal, authority, and government portals; the primary sources used by procurement and engineering teams.

• Citable Intelligence: Every fact REX surfaces is tied to a specific source URL or document, such as a city council agenda, website or a Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), maintaining a clear chain of custody for your data.

• Unified Intelligence View: By surfacing the most relevant information at the exact moment you need it, REX eliminates the need to toggle between different documents and web pages, providing a complete picture in a single view.

How to Use REX: A Step-by-Step Walkthrough

Research Explorer is accessible from any Insight or Opportunity view within Citylitics.

Step 1: Launch REX

• Navigate to an Opportunity (e.g., "City of Gatesville - Wastewater Treatment Plant Initiatives").

• Click the Research Explorer button located in the top action bar to open the research interface.

Step 2: Select the Type of Search

REX offers two ways to gather information:

1. Web-Based Search: Scours the public web for the most recent updates and context.

2. Search Within Source Document: Analyzes only the specific PDF or filing (e.g., Meeting Minutes) linked to that Insight.

Step 3: Run Pre-Configured Questions (Web Search)

To ensure you get the most actionable intelligence, our team has pre-engineered these prompts based on the core milestones of the infrastructure procurement lifecycle. These aren't just generic AI queries; they are specialized search patterns designed to uncover the specific data points such as funding trajectories and delivery methods that determine whether an opportunity is worth your investment.

Under the Research on the Web section, click a prompt to generate a targeted report:

• Summarize Recent Project Updates: Aggregates the latest activity, news, and timeline shifts to give you a real-time pulse on the project’s current momentum.

• Generate Detailed Project Report: Performs a rigorous fact-check across official records to produce a source-verified summary of essential scope, budget, and status details.

• Generate Account Intelligence Report: Builds a strategic profile of the municipality’s spending history and existing relationships to help you qualify the account against your firm’s acceptance criteria.

Step 4: Ask Custom Questions (Source Document)

If you need specific details buried in a 100-page agenda:

• Type an open-ended question into the "Ask a question from this document..." search box.

• Alternatively, select a suggested question like "Who are the key stakeholders?" or "In what context is this project being discussed?".

 

Step 5: Review and Export

• Review: REX outputs are a strong starting point. While REX provides a structured summary and verified facts, your team's expertise and judgment remain essential, especially for formal pursuit decisions.

• Regenerate & Refine: Research and web data are dynamic. If a specific report doesn’t capture the exact angle you’re looking for, click the Refresh button. This prompts REX to re-examine the available data and provide a fresh perspective or more detailed summary to ensure you have the best possible starting point

• Export: Copy the text to your clipboard or download the report as a PDF to share with your team.

 

Detailed Breakdown: Questions & Prompts

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

How current is the information surfaced by REX? Web research reflects what is publicly available at the exact time you request it. Source document answers are based on the specific filing linked to the Insight, which carries its own historical date.

What if REX can’t find an answer? REX is designed to acknowledge uncertainty. If reliable information is not found in the official records, it will list the item as "Not Confirmed" or "Unknown" rather than generating a guess.

Why are some of the source links "noisy" or hard to map? In some cases, you may find sources that contain broad information or links that require manual navigation. We are actively working on a more precise 1:1 citation matching system for our next iteration to reduce this "noise" and make source mapping more seamless.

Where do the "Verified Facts" come from? These are grounded in the actual documents REX scans, such as Tentative Capital Budgets or City Council Meeting Minutes. REX provides the direct URL so you can verify the original source yourself.

Can I save these reports to my CRM? Currently, you can copy output to your clipboard or export to PDF. Direct CRM integration is a planned feature for a future release.

Who can see my research activity? Your REX output and search history are visible only to users within your firm's Citylitics account. Your data is not used to train AI models shared with other customers.