Overview
The Adverse Media scoring rule in ScanX has been updated to use AI-powered results from KYC SiteScan, replacing the previous Google Search–based implementation.
The rule name “Adverse Media” remains unchanged in ScanX. The previous version has been renamed in the Scorecard Editor to differentiate it from the new AI-powered rule.
This update improves the accuracy, consistency, and usability of adverse media screening while aligning scorecard outputs directly with KYC SiteScan reports.
Prerequisites
Enabled KYC SiteScan integration
Underwriter or admin-level permissions to view Scorecard
How is the new Adverse Media rule different?
The legacy rule relied on configurable Google search strings to identify adverse media. While flexible, this approach required ongoing tuning and often produced irrelevant or noisy results.
The updated rule replaces this with AI-driven analysis from KYC SiteScan, which automatically identifies relevant adverse media signals and returns structured, high-confidence results.
In practical terms, this means:
- Less manual configuration and maintenance
- Fewer false positives
More consistent outputs between ScanX and KYC SiteScan
Why this matters
This update improves underwriting workflows by making adverse media screening more reliable and actionable.
Compared to the legacy rule:
- Results are more accurate, with fewer false positives
- Underwriters receive structured insights instead of raw search links
- Confidence scoring and reasoning provide better decision support
- Scorecard outputs now match the KYC SiteScan report, eliminating discrepancies
These improvements reduce manual review effort and support faster, more consistent underwriting decisions.
How it works
The AI-powered rule uses KYC SiteScan to screen merchant and principal data against a broad set of global sources.
It analyzes inputs such as:
- Business legal name and DBA
- Principal names
- Address, phone number, and website
The system scans across 50,000+ sources and billions of web pages, including regulatory records, legal filings, news, and social media.
Each result is enriched with:
- A classification (e.g., fraud, bankruptcy, regulatory action)
- A confidence score indicating relevance
- Source links, dates, and summaries
- Reasoning explaining why the result is tied to the merchant
Artificial intelligence is applied to filter out low-quality matches and prioritize high-confidence, relevant findings, significantly reducing noise compared to keyword-based searches.
Enabling the new Adverse Media rule
We have updated the name of the legacy rule to Adverse Media - Google Search Results in the Scorecard Editor. The new rule is now called Adverse Media.
To use the AI-powered Adverse Media rule:
- Navigate to the Scorecard Editor
- Locate the rule named “Adverse Media” (AI-powered version)
- Ensure the legacy Google Search–based rule is removed or disabled
- Add the updated rule to your scorecard if not already present
- Save and publish the scorecard
If you're not seeing both options in the Editor, remove the rule you have on your Scorecard currently, Save, refresh your page, then try adding the new rule.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are Adverse Media results configurable?
Yes. Adverse Media settings are configured directly in KYC SiteScan, not in ScanX. Configuration options include restricting results by date range, limiting sources (e.g., news vs. social media), filtering by region, and selecting supported languages.How does the AI-powered Adverse Media differ from Google Search–based results?
The legacy approach relied on keyword-based Google search strings, which often required manual tuning and produced false positives. The AI-powered version combines multiple data sources with machine learning to filter irrelevant results and return higher-confidence, structured findings with summaries and reasoning.What data is used to perform Adverse Media screening?
KYC SiteScan evaluates multiple merchant inputs, including business legal name, DBA, principal names, website, address, and phone number. These inputs are matched against global data sources to identify relevant adverse media.How are confidence scores determined for Adverse Media results?
Confidence scores are generated by AI models that compare detected information against the merchant’s input data. Higher scores indicate a stronger likelihood that the result is a true match, while lower scores indicate less certainty about relevance.How current are Adverse Media results?
Results are continuously updated using a combination of aggregated sources and targeted Google indexing. If new information is indexed on the web, it can be reflected in Adverse Media results shortly after becoming available.Is there an additional cost for the new Adverse Media rule?
No, the upgraded Adverse Media capabilities come with your existing KYC SiteScan integration. If you are not using the KYC SiteScan integration in ScanX and would like to, contact your Customer Success Manager.