Alternative data here means attention that can be called as JSON. POST https://api.trendsapi.ai/api with mode get_growth or get_time_series. Auth is a Bearer key. Valid attention sources in this session include google search, news volume, news sentiment, wikipedia, npm, python, and steam. After the 200, decode body as a second JSON document. Source strings are listed on the API reference. Search-property notes sit on the Google Trends guide.
Attention is not a price
Da, Engelberg, and Gao's FEARS index (2015) built market sentiment from household search for words such as recession and bankruptcy. The object was query interest, not a quote. The same split applies to a single name. google search for ChatGPT on 27 Aug 2026 was 78 on 22 Aug 2026, −4.88% over 3M and −10.34% over 12M. Wikipedia for the same label stored Chatgpt, 47.5 on 1 Jul 2026, +38.08% over 3M and −52.5% over 12M (from a 100 peak). Search cooled. Encyclopedia traffic did not share the year window. A factor that averages them without a rule is a blend of two clocks.
Join sources before the factor
POST https://api.trendsapi.ai/api
Authorization: Bearer <api_key>
Content-Type: application/json
{"mode":"get_growth","source":"google search, wikipedia","keyword":"ChatGPT","percent_growth":["3M","12M"]}
The inner payload lists source_results. volume_weighted_growth in that pull used only Wikipedia (volume 6574). Google search had no volume in the weight. A 38.11 weighted figure that ignores search is not "the market." Read sources_with_volume before the number enters a sheet.
Exabel's January 2026 report also found 94 percent of surveyed managers already use AI or machine learning on alt data, and 43 percent called data evaluation the hardest workflow step. Evaluation here means checking status on each window. date_out_of_range and collapsed_range are first-class outcomes.
Registries and games are still attention
source npm with keyword react (case-sensitive) returned 59.8 on 29 Aug 2026, −20.79% over 3M and +112.81% over 12M, recent volume 102,693,207. source steam with Elden Ring returned 1.9 on 1 Jul 2026, −9.52% over 3M and −47.22% over 12M, recent volume 46,694. Those are adoption and play, not equity prices. They belong in a thematic sleeve only after the name maps to a listed exposure. npm notes: the npm guide. Steam names: the Steam guide.