Method

Useful first. Paid second.

The directory is built to earn trust before selling inventory.

The signal scale

A score with a job.

The number is an editorial discovery signal—not a product review, benchmark result, or promise that a tool will fit your workflow.

A sharp, defensible wedge with unusually strong evidence of usefulness, efficiency, adoption, or incumbent replacement.

Clearly useful and differentiated with credible evidence, plus one or two meaningful limits to keep in view.

Specific enough to merit attention, but earlier, narrower, harder to adopt, or less fully evidenced.

Publication gate

Rule	What it means	Status
Live product	The company must have a reachable official product page or a credible sales-led access path.	Required
Useful distinction	The listing needs a specific wedge beyond general chatbot wrapper language.	Required
Evidence trail	Profiles keep official-site and pricing/source links visible.	Required
Visible freshness	Every profile shows when it entered the catalog. Added dates are publication history, not a claim that every source was rechecked that day.	Required
Ad separation	Paid placement is labeled as Ad - paid placement and never changes organic score.	Required
Status honesty	Desk-reviewed means source-checked. Field-tested is reserved for later hands-on workflow testing.	Required