How every story on this desk is verified.
A factual sentence is published only if it rests on the primary source itself, or on two independent outlets that each did their own reporting. If a claim cannot meet that bar, it is cut. If the story cannot survive the cuts, it is not published.
What this desk covers
Changes to how AI search engines find, choose and cite sources: Google AI Overviews and AI Mode, ChatGPT search, Perplexity, Gemini, Copilot and Claude. Also crawler and access policy, research on AI citations, regulation that touches AI answers, and what each of these means for brands and agencies in India.
Source tiers
| Tier | What it is | Can it confirm a claim? |
|---|---|---|
| Primary | The platform's own documentation, blog or changelog; regulator text; court filings; the study itself | Yes, alone, for what that party says about itself |
| Independent | Outlets with named editorial staff and a visible corrections practice | Yes, when two independent outlets each did their own reporting |
| Vendor | Any company selling SEO, AI-visibility, PR or monitoring tools or services | Only as "this vendor says", always labelled vendor-funded |
| Signal | Social posts, forums, newsletters | Never. A lead to investigate, not a source |
The two-key rule
Every factual sentence needs one primary source, or two independent sources. Two articles that both cite the same post count as one source; we trace each to its origin. Every source is fetched and archived when the story is written, and the passage we relied on is recorded.
Numbers
Every number names who measured it, what population it describes, the sample, the period and who paid for the research, with a link in the same sentence. Where studies contradict each other, we publish both and explain the difference. We do not pick the convenient one.
Originality
We do not rewrite other outlets' stories. Every story must add at least two things its sources do not: a check against the primary source, context from our evidence library, our own measurement, a before-and-after comparison, what it means for Indian brands and agencies, or practical steps. Quotations are short, attributed and limited to two per story. An automated check blocks any draft that repeats a source's wording outside quotation marks.
Independence
This desk is part of a company that sells AI-visibility services. The desk never covers our clients, carries no service links inside stories, and discloses the relationship whenever a story covers a company we compete with. See ownership and funding.
What we do not publish
- Anything we could not verify to the standard above
- Rumours, including rumoured ranking changes nobody can reproduce
- Press releases, sponsored posts or paid placements of any kind
- Stories about our clients
- Tip lists and filler written to fill a schedule
Use of AI
AI tools help us find, fetch and draft. A named human editor verifies and approves every story. Details.
Corrections
Errors are corrected openly, with a dated note on the story and an entry in the public corrections log. We do not edit stories silently.