Editorial & Advertising Policy
We sell advertising, and we publish reviews and rankings of the same kind of products. That is a conflict of interest, so this page sets out exactly how we keep the two apart: what money buys, how every paid placement is labelled, and what is not for sale at any price.
Key points at a glance
A summary for orientation only — the full policy below is what actually governs.
Rankings are not for sale
No placement, review score or verified badge can be bought. Paying us buys visibility only.
Everything paid is labelled
Sponsored, guest and paid placements carry a visible label at the placement itself.
Paid links carry rel="sponsored"
Every commercial link is attributed so it passes no ranking signal.
Tell us if we slip
Spotted an unlabelled placement? Report it and we will label or remove it.
Why this page exists
AIToolsay earns money from advertising placements, sponsored articles, guest posts and listing upgrades. We also review, rank and describe AI tools — sometimes the same ones. Any publisher in that position has a conflict of interest, and the only honest response is to publish the rules rather than hope nobody notices.
If anything below is not matched by what you actually see on the site, that is a bug in our practice, not a nuance in our wording. Tell us at editorial@aitoolsay.com.
What is for sale
Every commercial product buys the same thing: visibility. None of them buys a favourable opinion.
- Featured and verified listings — a more prominent position in the directory, and a badge indicating the listing was checked.
- Homepage and category spotlights — placement in a defined slot for a defined period.
- Sponsored articles and press releases — content supplied or commissioned by an advertiser, published under a sponsored label.
- Guest posts — contributed editorial from an external author, published under a contributed label.
- Link insertions and link programmes — a commercial link placed in existing or new content.
- Newsletter spotlights — a labelled placement in an email edition.
What is not for sale
These are absolute. There is no rate card entry for any of them, and no amount of spend changes them:
- Ranking position in a comparison or "best of" list. Order reflects our assessment, not who paid.
- Review scores or verdicts. We will not write a favourable review to order, and we will not remove an unfavourable one because an advertiser asked.
- Removal of a competitor. We do not accept payment to delist, downrank or suppress anyone.
- Removal of a legitimate critical review left by a user.
- The verified badge as a quality claim. See below — it means checked, not endorsed.
An advertiser who asks for any of the above is told no. Repeating the request ends the relationship.
How paid content is labelled
Disclosure is worthless if you have to go looking for it, so every label appears at the placement — not only on this page.
- Sponsored — paid for by the named party, who had influence over the content.
- Contributed / Guest post — written by an external author. Paid placement is labelled as such.
- Advertisement — a display or promotional unit.
- Affiliate links — see the Affiliate Disclosure.
Labels are visible before the content, in normal reading size, without hovering, expanding or scrolling past the article. They are not styled to be missed.
How paid links are attributed
This is the part most publishers leave vague. We do not.
Every link that exists because money changed hands carries rel="sponsored" — link insertions, links inside sponsored articles and press releases, links in paid directory placements, and links in guest posts where the placement was paid for.
Affiliate links carry rel="sponsored nofollow". User-submitted links carry rel="ugc".
This means a paid link passes no ranking signal. We say so plainly to advertisers before they buy, because a link programme that quietly passes PageRank puts both parties at risk of a search-engine penalty, and selling one while implying otherwise would be selling something we cannot deliver.
The verified badge
The verified badge means a human confirmed the listing's basic facts: that the product exists, the link resolves, the description matches what the product does, and the pricing shown is current at the time of checking.
It does not mean we recommend the product, that we have tested it in depth, or that it is better than an unverified one. It is a factual check, not an endorsement, and we would rather state that than let a badge imply more than it is worth.
How reviews are conducted
- We use the product before writing about it, at the tier a normal user would reach.
- Comparisons state their criteria, so you can disagree with the criteria rather than guess at them.
- Where a review covers a current advertiser, the article says so.
- Writers do not accept payment, equity or gifts from the companies they cover. Free trial access is disclosed.
- Prices and features are checked at publication and re-checked when we revise. A stale figure is an error to fix, not a position to defend.
AI assistance in our own content
We use AI tools in our workflow — that is what this site is about. Where AI materially assisted an article, the article says so. A human is responsible for every published claim, including the ones a model drafted. Nothing is published unread.
Corrections
When we get something wrong we correct it in place and note what changed. We do not silently edit a factual error out of history. Corrections that materially change a verdict are stated at the top of the article.
Report an error to editorial@aitoolsay.com or through report an issue.
Reporting an unlabelled placement
If you find paid content on this site that is not labelled, or a commercial link without the right attribution, tell us. We will label it, fix the attribution or remove it, and we will say what happened. That is a faster route to fixing our practice than anything else, and we would rather hear it from you than not at all.
Changes
This policy is reviewed whenever our commercial model changes. The current version always lives at this URL with a last-updated stamp.
Everything you wanted to ask
Still stuck? Our team answers every message.
Still have a question? We usually reply within one working day.
Can I pay to rank higher in a "best of" list?
No. Ranking position is not for sale at any price. You can buy a labelled placement or a featured listing, which is visibility — not a position in an editorial ranking.
Do paid links pass SEO value?
No. Every commercial link carries rel="sponsored", and affiliate links carry rel="sponsored nofollow". We tell advertisers this before they buy, because a link programme that quietly passes PageRank puts both parties at risk of a penalty.
What does the verified badge actually mean?
That a human checked the listing's basic facts — the product exists, the link works, the description matches, the pricing was current when checked. It is not an endorsement and not a quality rating.
Will you remove a bad review if I advertise?
No. We do not accept payment to remove, downrank or suppress critical coverage, our own or a user's. Advertisers who ask are told no.
How do I tell if something is sponsored?
It says so at the placement, before the content, in normal reading size. If you find something paid that is not labelled, report it to editorial@aitoolsay.com and we will fix it.
Do you use AI to write your articles?
We use AI tools in our workflow and say so where they materially assisted an article. A human is responsible for every published claim, and nothing goes out unread.
Do advertisers see reviews before publication?
Not for editorial reviews. Sponsored content is a different thing — the sponsor supplies or approves it, which is exactly why it carries a sponsored label.
Something here unclear?
Legal writing is easy to get wrong. If any part of this page is ambiguous — or you think it is mistaken — tell us and we will fix the wording.
