How We Test AI Tools
Our evaluation approach
Every comparison we publish is based on publicly available documentation, stated feature sets, pricing pages, and deployment requirements. We do not claim independent lab testing unless explicitly stated. Where we reference specific capabilities, we link to the source so you can verify claims directly.
What we evaluate
Setup and time-to-value
We review the documented steps from purchase or sign-up to a functional deployment, including environment requirements, document ingestion, and first query. We note where vendor documentation is unclear or incomplete.
Retrieval and accuracy
We evaluate each platform's stated approach to chunking, embedding, retrieval, and reranking based on published documentation and architecture descriptions. We flag where accuracy claims are vendor-reported versus independently verified.
Latency and scalability
We review vendor-published performance specifications and note where independent benchmarks are available. We do not publish our own latency figures unless we have run controlled tests and can disclose the conditions.
Pricing and total cost
We compare pricing tiers based on publicly listed rates. Where usage-based costs apply, we describe the cost structure and note what a representative workload might cost, based on the vendor's own pricing calculator or documentation.
Data privacy and hosting
We document the deployment model, data residency options, and third-party API dependencies based on vendor documentation. We note where self-hosted or VPC deployment is a stated option.
Developer experience
We assess documentation quality, codebase clarity where source code is available, stated community support channels, and the degree of customization the platform allows for chunking, retrieval, and reranking.
What we do not do
- Accept sponsored placements or paid reviews
- Rank tools based on affiliate commission rates
- Publish performance scores without disclosing the test conditions
- Present vendor-reported claims as independently verified results
- Recommend tools without reviewing their documentation and stated capabilities
Affiliate disclosure
Some of our comparison articles contain affiliate links. When you purchase through one of these links, LLM Launch Readiness may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. This never influences our editorial rankings or scores. Read our full affiliate disclosure →