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SM-PRS-005 · Define

The Gauge

Persona Builder

Live
Free · $19/mo · Pro
Start for Free → See pricing
Overview

Most personas are character sketches that describe a person who doesn't exist. The Gauge builds personas from the actual US Census — you don't invent demographics, you select from real distributions. Walk away with a persona card that says "12.4 million Americans" instead of "Susan, 29, loves yoga."

Product
The Gauge — Persona Builder
Model No.
SM-PRS-005
Input
Progressive drill-down across 6 demographic layers
Output
Branded persona card · PDF · PNG · shareable link · JSON
Pricing
Free (3 saves) · $19/mo Pro (12 saves, 24 narratives)
Data source
US Census ACS 5-Year, BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey
Connects to
The Panl, The Compass, The Ledger
01 The Problem

Build personas from real data, not fiction.

02 What it does

Key capabilities.

01

Progressive Drill-Down

Pick a region, then narrow by gender, age, income, education, and household composition. Population count updates as you go.

02

Census-Grounded Data

Every layer is real. The percentages on your persona card are pulled from US Census ACS 5-Year estimates.

03

AI Persona Narrative

Claude generates a 2–3 paragraph narrative grounded in the demographic data. Clearly labeled as inference.

04

Branded Persona Card

PDF, PNG, and shareable link export. SM-styled, presentation-ready.

05

Persona Library

Save, name, edit, duplicate, and compare personas. Build a library that grows with your business.

06

API + Integrations

Push to The Panl as panelist context. Pull into The Compass to inform journey stages.

03 How it works

Four steps.

  1. 01

    Pick a region. Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, Southwest, West Coast, Pacific NW.

  2. 02

    Drill down. Gender → age → household income → education → household composition. Every selection narrows the population.

  3. 03

    Generate narrative. Claude writes a 2–3 paragraph profile grounded in the data.

  4. 04

    Export. PDF, PNG, shareable link, or push to The Panl / Compass.

Demo See it work
Fig. 02 · The Gauge in motion · 0:30 · muted · autoplay
04 Pricing

Simple pricing.

Free
$0

3 saved personas · 3 AI narratives · PDF export · share links

Start for Free →
Pro
$19/mo

12 saved personas · 24 AI narratives/mo · PNG/JSON export · Panl integration

Start for Free →
Connects to The SM Pipeline

One tool leads to the next.

Discover The Ledger

Turn interviews into citable insights.

→ Validate The Panl

Test concepts with a synthetic panel.

→ Map The Compass

Build customer journey maps with AI.

→ Evaluate The Lathe

Score any customer experience in minutes.

→
05 Questions

FAQ

Is this real Census data?
Yes. US Census ACS 5-Year estimates, refreshed annually, pre-processed for fast querying.
How is it different from HubSpot's free persona tool?
HubSpot generates fictional characters from your form inputs. The Gauge starts with the actual population — you discover a persona, you don't invent one.
Can I add custom attributes?
The drill-down is fixed at launch (region, gender, age, income, education, household). Custom attributes are on the roadmap.
Does it work outside the US?
Currently US-only. International ACS-equivalent datasets are on the roadmap (UK ONS, EU Eurostat).
Can I share a persona with a client without giving them an account?
Yes — every saved persona has a shareable, read-only link.
Is my account training the AI?
No. Claude API runs under no-training agreement.

Get
started.

Start for Free →