Editorial guidelines

A directory that takes money from the vendors it describes has a built-in conflict of interest. This page explains how we deal with it: verifiably, and with consequences if we don't stick to it.

1. The two hard rules

Ratings are not for sale. A payment buys a review, its speed, a badge, and visibility. It doesn't buy a score. If a paid tool does poorly, the poor rating is published. An unfavorable rating is not a rejection, not a failure to deliver, and not grounds for a refund.

Sort order is not for sale. Lists are sorted by review status, then rating, then the date the tool was added. This editorial order applies to every category. Paid placement appears separately in the featured strip and is labeled as an Ad.

2. Labeling ads

• Every paid placement visibly carries the label Ad, no smaller and no paler than the surrounding text.
• Links from paid listings carry rel="sponsored"; links from unpaid listings carry rel="nofollow".
• Affiliate links are disclosed on our Advertising & affiliate links page and labeled where they appear.
• A category sponsor appears only in its own labeled block, never inside the editorial list.

3. When we reject

Among other reasons, we reject a tool if it

• is unreachable, has no valid certificate, or redirects to a parked domain;
• is flagged as malicious in a security check;
• is essentially a thin wrapper around someone else's API, with no value of its own and without disclosing that;
• doesn't name a reachable responsible party;
• impersonates people, clones voices, or generates intimate content without consent;
• advertises capabilities it demonstrably doesn't have;
• is already in the directory (duplicate).

Every rejection comes with a written explanation. For paid tiers, the full amount is refunded. A low rating, limited reach, or lack of commercial success is not a rejection.

4. How we handle our own mistakes

• Every correction report gets a reply within five business days, via the corrections form.
• Corrected pages carry a dated correction notice. We don't make silent changes.
• If the error affects a rating, the rating is recalculated and the review date updated.
• Corrections are free, for paid and unpaid listings alike.

5. Independence

• Reviewers may not hold a stake in a vendor they review. If there's a connection, someone else does the review, and the connection is disclosed on the listing.
• We don't accept gifts, free annual licenses, or revenue share in exchange for a particular rating. A test account for the review is fine and is noted on the listing.
• Vendors don't see their rating before publication. They only get the fact table in advance so they can correct errors.

6. What goes into a listing

• Every claim on a verified page carries a source and a review date.
• Anything we haven't checked is marked as unchecked. It isn't estimated and it isn't left out.
• Full comparison pages – with ratings and the complete privacy table – only exist between two verified tools in the same category.
• For a small set of frequently compared pairs we also publish editorial comparisons before either tool is verified. They compare only what the vendors document (category, pricing model, export options, headquarters, documented privacy answers), are labeled as incomplete at the top, and name no winner.
• Reviews come due after 180 days. Until the re-review, the page visibly shows how old the information is.

7. If we don't stick to this

Write to corrections@aipptxmaker.com. A substantiated breach of these guidelines leads to a correction, a new review, and a dated note on the affected page. A refund is only issued if the breach materially affects the paid service or mandatory law requires it.