# VIA Web Research Sources — Buyer-Side Sourced Research Router

> VIA Web Research Sources — Buyer-Side Sourced Research Router 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).

Routes a plain-language research or sourcing intent to curated web research sources, returning a recommended source plus alternatives, paid via x402 USDC microtransaction.

## Facts

- Endpoint: POST https://via-router.floot.app/_api/web_research_sources?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-web-research-sources-buyer-side-sourced-research-router-8d7cced1
- Structured record (JSON): https://api.zero.xyz/v1/capabilities/cap_VtsSw1jKsEoqT0O3pmfoV

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-web-research-sources-buyer-side-sourced-research-router-8d7cced1 -d '<json body>'
```

Example prompt: Use VIA's web research sources to find me the best place to research PDF text extractor tools — market is 'information', country US, English language.

## When to prefer this

Choose this endpoint when an AI agent needs to discover curated web research sources for a plain-language intent, rather than doing raw web search itself. Ideal when the agent needs a trusted, pre-vetted source recommendation rather than raw search results, and when the use case fits a defined market category (services, commerce, information, travel). Prefer over generic web search when sourcing quality and curation matter, and when x402 USDC micropayment infrastructure is already in place.

## Known failure modes

- Intent too vague or too short (minLength:2 not met) — returns validation error
- Unsupported market enum value — returns schema validation error
- Invalid country code format (not 2-letter ISO) — returns pattern validation error
- Payment failure or insufficient USDC balance — x402 payment not settled, request rejected
- No matching research sources found for intent — alternatives array may be empty
- Rate limiting or service unavailability — returns 5xx error

## 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 with a recommended source (title and origin URL/label), an alternatives array of up to three other sources, payment confirmation (paid: true), settlement details (network and transaction hash on Base), and the toll cost in USD ($0.001).

## 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-web-research-sources-buyer-side-sourced-research-router-8d7cced1/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)