Research & evidence
Evidence Standards
The Searches.com evidence system is designed to make claims auditable. It defines what counts as evidence, how we label confidence, and what a source can—and cannot—establish.
Evidence labels
| Label | Meaning | Typical support |
|---|---|---|
| Verified | Current factual claim checked directly | Official pricing/help/privacy documentation |
| Editorial | Searches.com interpretation or recommendation | Documented facts plus editorial analysis |
| Tested | Observed under a published test protocol | Dated query set, recorded result and scoring rule |
| Unverified / variable | May vary by geography, account, rollout or time | Qualified or omitted until reproducible |
What a source proves
A vendor source can establish what the vendor currently says about its product. It does not independently prove retrieval quality, privacy outcomes, citation accuracy or comparative superiority. Those require either independent evidence or a Searches.com test.
Evidence record fields
- Claim or attribute being checked
- Source URL and source type
- Date verified
- Whether the claim is stable or changeable
- Editorial interpretation, if any
- Test protocol and sample size when an original result is reported
Citation-readiness rule
We aim to write factual statements so a human reader or AI system can identify the entity, attribute, date and evidence behind the claim without relying on hidden JavaScript or ambiguous prose.
Related: Editorial standards · Benchmark methodology
Structured evidence
See the Search Tool Capability Baseline for the current normalized dataset and downloadable source files.