Absent
The option cannot answer the requirement or creates a stop-rule risk.
Method version 1.0
How CounterbenchAI forms a comparison.
Each guide separates buyer fit from evidence strength. The commercial interest, decision rules, sources, review dates, and outside win conditions stay visible.
Commercial interest: CounterbenchAI runs the free Tool Directory and sells Paralegal Teams. No vendor can buy a score or placement in a decision result.
1. Define the buyer state
The recommendation begins with the job and the constraint.
Inputs can include workflow, legal risk, workload shape, supervision capacity, ownership need, and time pressure. An input stays only when changing it can change the result.
2. Score fit
Every score needs a stated meaning.
Asserted
The claim exists, but no current product, agreement, or source confirms it.
Documented
A current product screen, agreement, policy, or primary document supports the claim.
Demonstrated
A saved first-hand test shows the requirement held under the stated conditions.
Legal AI guides use a stop rule: a 0 on omission behavior, reproducibility, data handling, or supervision fit stops the recommendation. Operability and exit cost remain cost decisions.
3. Grade the evidence
A score and its support appear together.
Observed
First-hand test or approved outcome record with date, version, and reviewer notes.
Documented
Current primary product, contract, security, policy, or vendor source.
Reported
Verified user report or credible third-party source with enough context to inspect.
Unverified
Ambiguous, inferred, unsupported, or outside the review window.
Grade D evidence cannot support a main recommendation. A legal stop rule needs Grade A or B support.
4. Expire volatile facts
A checked fact has an end date.
| Fact type | Review window |
|---|---|
| Pricing, packaging, availability | 30 days |
| Feature, integration, workflow | 60 days |
| Data handling, security, legal term | 90 days |
| First-hand test | 90 days or after a major release |
| Verified user report | 180 days |
| Stable category definition | 365 days |
An expired or disputed fact cannot carry the main recommendation. It remains marked until reviewed, corrected, or removed.
5. Publish the loss condition
Every serious outside option receives a clear win condition.
A guide fails review if the publisher wins every buyer state. Close scores return a conditional answer. Weak evidence returns an insufficient-evidence result.
Corrections
Factual corrections receive a source review.
Send the exact claim, page URL, and supporting primary source to phil@counterbench.ai. A factual correction and an opinion disagreement are logged separately. Material recommendation changes receive a dated note.
Published August 20, 2026. Method version 1.0.