# A vendor claim needs an evidence trail

Save the statement, source, scope, and date so the next reviewer can challenge your conclusion.

Published 2026-10-13 · startidea · AI-assisted, source-linked analysis. No hands-on vendor testing.

## A URL alone is not the finding

A homepage may contain several products, customer stories, and future plans. Save the specific statement that supports your conclusion, not just the page address. Record whether it describes a current capability, a planned feature, or a customer outcome. The next reviewer should be able to explain why the evidence was relevant without repeating the whole search.

## Keep four dates conceptually separate

A company can publish an old case study on a page you checked today. The page-check date, publication date, event date, and your assessment date answer different questions. Do not label an old deployment as new because a crawler just encountered it. If the original event date is missing, say so rather than substituting the retrieval date.

## Preserve disagreement

A pricing page might reserve an API for one plan while a product page says integrations are available generally. Keep both sources and the apparent scope difference. Do not average contradictory claims into a confident status. A useful next step is a precise question about the intended plan, region, product version, or deployment model.

## Make updates explainable

Startidea distinguishes indexed profiles, saved-source reviews, and fresh official-page checks. A failed refresh retains earlier evidence and timestamps. Public source checks can improve a shortlist, but they cannot prove control effectiveness or real-world performance. The most valuable update often narrows a claim: “available for this plan” is more useful than changing a generic badge from unknown to yes.

## Review worksheet

- Capture the exact claim with a source and retrieval date.
- Record product, plan, region, and time scope when known.
- Keep conflicts visible and assign one next verification step.

## Sources

- [Evidence policy](/agent-policy.txt)
- [Example sourced company record](/company/bostondynamics.com)