What affiliate relationships can do
A commercial relationship can place a product in the research queue and can compensate SmarterBuyLab when a reader makes a qualifying purchase through a marked link.
What they cannot do
Partners cannot buy a ranking, suppress a limitation, approve a review, dictate a competitor comparison or turn research-based work into a hands-on claim. Higher commission does not produce a higher position.
Publication requirements
- A defined audience and use case
- Primary-source product and company evidence
- Visible limitations and best-fit conditions
- A verification date
- A jurisdiction decision
- A commercial disclosure whenever monetized links appear
Artificial intelligence
Automation may help organize sources and draft internal research, but published factual claims require source support. AI output is not treated as evidence, and no synthetic user experience is presented as a product test.