When to use this checklist
- Your site has product, package, plan, service-tier, location, or competitor-comparison pages that AI search tools may summarize for buyers.
- A team member wants AI to draft a table with “best for,” included/excluded, price, availability, warranty, setup, or limitation rows.
- Answer engines are quoting outdated comparison copy, missing caveats, or blending your offer with a competitor's claims.
- You need a safe way to update comparison tables without accidentally inventing legal, pricing, certification, medical, financial, or competitor statements.
Copy/paste comparison source card
AI search product comparison source card
Comparison page/table name: [page or table title]
Audience/use case: [buyer segment or decision]
Offer/product/plan being compared: [name]
Comparison alternatives: [internal plans / competitors / product types / service packages]
Source pages checked: [pricing page / product spec / contract / policy / help doc / partner source]
Rows allowed: [features, best fit, limitations, price range, setup, warranty, service area, support, compatibility]
Rows not allowed: [unverified ranking, competitor claim, guarantee, legal/compliance claim, medical/financial advice]
Last verified by: [owner]
Last verified date: [date]
Next review date: [date]
Public caveat or footnote: [approved wording]
STOP PUBLISHING if any row mentions competitor claims, price, discount, warranty, certification, guarantee, ranking, performance, eligibility, availability, compatibility, legal/compliance language, or customer results without a current source.
Safe comparison wording templates
1. Internal plan comparison
This table compares the current published plan details we have verified as of [date]. If you need help choosing, use [decision step] or contact [support/sales path] before relying on a single row.
2. Competitor/alternative page caveat
This comparison is based on publicly available or owner-verified information as of [date]. Competitor offers can change, so check the official source before making a purchase or switching decision.
3. Missing-source hold note
Hold this table row. We do not have a current source for [claim]. Replace it with neutral language or route it to the page owner before publishing.
AI audit prompt
You are auditing a product/service comparison table for AI-search safety. Use only the verified sources below. Do not invent rankings, price, discounts, guarantees, feature availability, competitor facts, compatibility, certifications, legal claims, customer outcomes, or policy exceptions. Mark any unsupported row as NEEDS SOURCE.
Verified sources:
[official product/plan pages]
[pricing or policy source]
[spec sheet/help doc]
[competitor source if comparison is public and allowed]
[approved caveat/footnote]
[current table draft]
Return: (1) rows that are source-backed, (2) rows that need source updates, (3) risky claims to remove, (4) safer replacement wording, and (5) next review date.
Human-review stop rules
- STOP PUBLISHING before publishing AI-written rankings, “best” labels, competitor claims, price/discount promises, guarantees, warranty terms, certifications, service availability, compliance-sensitive claims, or performance/customer-result claims.
- NEEDS OWNER REVIEW if a comparison row references a contract, legal/policy limit, regulated claim, partner relationship, source older than 30–90 days, or competitor page.
- Keep comparison tables narrow: cite the current source, show the review date, and write a caveat instead of pretending AI knows the latest offer.
This is a practical free resource from Horizon Flow. The paid SEO After AI expands this into source-of-truth maps, answer-engine audit workflows, page templates, and refresh cadences for small-business teams.