Narrative Science was a pioneer in natural language generation (NLG), helping organizations turn structured data into plain-English narratives. Their flagship product, Quill, automatically created written summaries and reports from data, making analytics accessible to non-technical users. (Note: Narrative Science was acquired by Salesforce in 2021, but its legacy remains relevant to data storytelling tools.)
🔍 What It Does:
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📊 Transforms Data into Stories – Uses NLG to convert numbers into readable business insights
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📝 Automated Report Writing – Creates summaries, updates, and performance narratives at scale
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📈 Enhances Dashboards & Analytics – Adds plain-language explanations to BI tools like Tableau and Power BI
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🧠 Explains Trends, Anomalies, and KPIs – Identifies what matters and tells you why
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🧩 API & Integration Support – Can be embedded into apps, dashboards, or customer portals
💡 What Made It Unique:
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🧠 Early Leader in NLG – Helped shape the data-to-narrative movement in AI
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📖 Automated Storytelling from Data – Gave business users direct access to insights without relying on analysts
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🔍 Focused on Business Intelligence Use Cases – Empowered teams across finance, operations, and HR
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🚀 Scalable for Enterprise Reporting – Saved hours of time generating repetitive insights
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🧑💼 Aligned with Decision-Making – Translated insights into action items for executives and teams
💰 How People Could Make Money with Narrative Science (or similar tools):
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📊 Automate Client Reporting – Use NLG tools to generate personalized reports at scale
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📈 Sell BI-Enhanced Dashboards – Bundle written explanations with analytics solutions
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📋 Report Templates for Industries – Build plug-and-play data narratives for finance, healthcare, etc.
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🧑🏫 Train Teams on Data Storytelling – Help businesses implement or transition to NLG tools
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🛠️ Create SaaS Integrations – Embed NLG functionality into niche analytics platforms