# VIA Research Brief — Buyer-Side Agent Router (Written Brief)

> VIA Research Brief — Buyer-Side Agent Router (Written Brief) is a paid API for AI agents from via-router.floot.app, paid per call via x402, $0.05/call, status unknown (last checked 2026-10-10).

Generates a written research brief recommending the best API, service, product, or information source for a given plain-language intent, with payment via x402 USDC on Base.

## Facts

- Endpoint: POST https://via-router.floot.app/_api/research_brief_written?utm_source=zero.xyz
- Price: $0.05/call
- Payment: x402
- Status: unknown
- Last checked: 2026-10-10
- Activations on Zero: 0
- Tags: x402
- Canonical page: https://www.zero.xyz/c/via-research-brief-buyer-side-agent-router-written-brief-7c1189bc
- Structured record (JSON): https://api.zero.xyz/v1/capabilities/cap_h7XSMb0BV7YuSQgKPeCKo

Status and success rate cover calls made through Zero and Zero's own probes. Third-party monitors may report differently.

## How to call it through Zero

Zero handles the 402 payment challenge and records the run. With the Zero CLI installed (`npm i -g @zeroxyz/cli`):

```sh
zero fetch --capability via-research-brief-buyer-side-agent-router-written-brief-7c1189bc -d '<json body>'
```

Example prompt: I need a written research brief recommending the best PDF text extractor service — search across APIs and tools in the information market and give me a clear recommendation with alternatives.

## When to prefer this

Choose this endpoint when an AI agent or human needs a written, opinionated research brief — not just a list — recommending which API, service, or product to use for a specific task. It is best when the user wants a curated, sourced recommendation with alternatives rather than a raw search result. Prefer it over generic search when the goal is buyer-side decision-making with x402 micropayment settlement on Base, especially for agents that need to autonomously select tools or services.

## Known failure modes

- Intent too vague or too short (minLength:2 not met) — returns validation error
- Unsupported market enum value — returns 400 bad request
- Invalid country code format (not ISO 3166-1 alpha-2) — returns validation error
- Payment failure on Base network — transaction not settled, request not fulfilled
- No strong recommendation found — alternatives array may be empty
- Unsupported language requested — only 'en' and 'pt' accepted

## How this service works

VIA is a paid buyer-side router for AI agents and humans. Compare APIs, services, products and sourced research with x402 USDC payments on Base.

## Output

Returns a JSON object containing a written recommendation with a title and source, a list of up to three alternative options, a confirmation that payment was settled on Base (EIP-155:8453) with transaction hash, the toll amount in USD ($0.001), and a flag confirming the payment was processed.

## Request schema (JSON Schema)

```json
{
 "type": "object",
 "properties": {
  "intent": {
   "type": "string",
   "maxLength": 500,
   "minLength": 2,
   "description": "Plain-language request to route"
  },
  "market": {
   "enum": [
    "auto",
    "services",
    "commerce",
    "information",
    "travel"
   ],
   "type": "string"
  },
  "country": {
   "type": "string",
   "pattern": "^[A-Z]{2}$"
  },
  "language": {
   "enum": [
    "en",
    "pt"
   ],
   "type": "string"
  }
 }
}
```

## Response schema (JSON Schema)

```json
{
 "type": "json",
 "example": {
  "paid": true,
  "intent": "Find a PDF text extractor",
  "settlement": {
   "network": "eip155:8453",
   "transaction": "0x..."
  },
  "viaTollUsd": 0.001,
  "alternatives": [],
  "recommendation": {
   "title": "PDF Text Extractor",
   "source": "Apify Store"
  }
 }
}
```

## More

- Live health (JSON, refreshed every minute): https://www.zero.xyz/c/via-research-brief-buyer-side-agent-router-written-brief-7c1189bc/health.json
- [Zero catalog index](https://www.zero.xyz/llms.txt)
- [Other services from via-router.floot.app](https://www.zero.xyz/host/via-router.floot.app/llms.txt)