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Methodology

How AI Tool Graph turns official sources, pricing pages, documentation, and updates into public registry facts.

/methodology

What the method produces

AI Tool Graph turns source material into structured registry facts. The method is designed for repeatable fields such as identity, official links, capabilities, pricing routes, evidence, freshness, and review state.

Relationship and context fields are modeled separately and appear only where source-backed public coverage supports them.

The goal is not to decide which tool a reader should buy. The goal is to make factual records inspectable enough that downstream editorial products, internal research, and public readers can see where a claim came from.

identity

Canonical records

Tool, company, suite, platform, model, and project identities are separated when the source material supports that split.

access

Capability and delivery facts

Capabilities, input and output types, delivery modes, and supported user surfaces are tracked as separate fields.

pricing

Pricing routes

Commercial access paths are recorded as routes with their own source URL, checked state, owner, and source review context.

evidence

Source-backed context

Evidence rows keep source type, used-for labels, freshness, and review context visible instead of burying them in prose.

Source priority

Primary sources are preferred for facts that affect identity, access, pricing, or public-page scope.

Official sources are the default authority. Third-party pages can help discovery, but they are weak evidence for canonical facts and should not become primary pricing evidence.

Level 1	Official pricing pages, documentation, changelogs, product pages, company announcements, terms, and security or trust pages.
Level 2	Official help centers, status pages, official blogs, public release notes, and vendor-owned support materials.
Level 3	Marketplace listings, app-store listings, developer mirrors, and official partner listings when they add useful access context.
Level 4	Third-party references, media summaries, community notes, or search snippets. These are treated as discovery aids, not primary evidence.

Freshness rhythm

Profile freshness and pricing freshness are separate. A stable official identity page can remain current while a pricing route needs a new source check, and a pricing update should not automatically change every profile field.

Records are rechecked when an official source changes, a source update is reported, a record is prepared for public publication, or a downstream projection needs a stronger source state.

Freshness fields should describe what was checked, not imply a broader review than the source supports.
Pricing checks should remain attached to pricing routes or direct plans rather than a generic page timestamp.
Fields should stay source-scoped instead of being converted into confident copy that overstates the evidence.

Source review context

Source strength is kept in the facts model and review workflows. Public pages should expose source links and freshness without turning review status into product quality marks.

official

Official and recent

A field is backed by a strong official source, the claim is unambiguous, and the checked state is current enough for the public record.

partial

Official with limits

The source is official, while the field may depend on plan conditions, regional differences, or source-specific wording.

review

Needs stronger source context

The source trail is older, indirect, or better handled through source review before it becomes a public claim.

Source update loop

Source updates are part of the method. A useful report points to the affected page, names the exact field or sentence, and includes the strongest official source available.

A source review can update a value, refresh source context, add a source, or keep a claim out of public facts until the source trail supports it.

Preferred evidence: official pricing, documentation, product, trust, changelog, or announcement pages.
Useful context: affected route, field name, source URL, and what changed in the source material.
Rejected updates: unsourced promotional claims, broad opinions, private account screenshots, or requests to change ordering for commercial reasons.

What the method refuses

The registry does not turn subjective judgments into canonical facts. If a page needs buyer guidance, subjective ordering, or editorial recommendation, that belongs outside the shared facts registry.

No invented prices, star-style labels, verification dates, official source counts, or review labels.
No chosen-for-you labels, numeric quality marks, or popularity ordering as registry facts.
No conversion of context-specific workflow signals into global tool facts.
No affiliate-first calls to action as evidence or methodology.