We research first. Then we make the recommendation.
AlreadyChecked is designed to do the research a careful buyer would otherwise have to do manually, then show the answer simply and keep the evidence available for inspection.
1. Understand the decision
We start with the user's actual problem rather than a product name. The system extracts stated circumstances, budget, use case, hard requirements, preferences and exclusions. If important information is missing and could materially change the winner, the user can be asked what matters most.
2. Build a research plan
The research plan identifies the facts that must be verified before a recommendation is allowed. That can include current pricing, feature support, compatibility, usage limits, contract terms, relevant alternatives and real-world reliability.
3. Check current sources
Depending on the decision, research may use official pricing pages, documentation, specifications, terms and support pages, along with independent professional reviews, customer-review sources, reputable comparisons and current reporting. A source only enters the verified record when it was actually used in that research run.
4. Cross-check claims
Company marketing is labeled as company marketing. It does not automatically become verification. When an official claim conflicts with documentation, terms, independent evidence or recurring customer experience, the conflict is recorded rather than smoothed over.
Example: a service may advertise “unlimited” usage while its support documentation describes a credit, fair-use or throttling limit. AlreadyChecked treats that as a meaningful limitation that can affect the recommendation.
5. Eliminate products that fail
Hard constraints are pass/fail gates. A product that exceeds a verified budget cap, fails a required compatibility condition or lacks sufficient evidence cannot become the winner. Preferences are used only after the hard requirements pass.
6. Compare the qualified options
The remaining candidates are compared against the user's priorities. Affiliate payout, sponsorship and referral economics are excluded from winner selection. If the evidence is not strong enough to defend a winner, the system returns insufficient evidence.
7. Show the work
The recommendation experience presents OUR PICK first, followed by proof, important limitations and meaningful alternatives. The expandable “How we reached this recommendation” section exposes criteria, claims, sources, uncertainty and checked dates.
Research is time-sensitive. Prices, plans, product specifications and market conditions can change, which is why verified records carry checked dates and public decision pages have freshness requirements.