Editorial Policy

Last updated: September 2026

How content is researched

Every guide starts from a real decision problem — a question someone actually faces when choosing a gift — not from a keyword's search volume. We outline what a useful answer looks like before writing, and discard topics where we can't add anything beyond what a shopping site already says.

How gift ideas are selected

Gift concepts come from our internal library, where each concept is documented with who it fits, who should avoid it, what can go wrong, and how to personalize it. Ideas that can't answer those questions are not published. We don't accept product submissions or paid placement.

How recommendations are evaluated

Recommendations are produced by a deterministic scoring engine, not an ad auction. The engine's criteria (relevance to the person, occasion fit, effort, risk) are described on the How MindGift Works page. Editorial content never promotes a concept because it performs better commercially — there is no commercial dimension to a concept.

How AI is used

We use AI tools for research and for drafting — and we say so plainly. A human editor reviews every article before publishing: checking that the reasoning holds, that suggestions are specific rather than generic, and that the page would still be useful if all images and interactive elements were removed. AI never selects which gift a user receives; it writes explanations for selections the engine already made.

How pages are reviewed

Guides show an 'Updated' date reflecting their last editorial review. We re-check pages when prices, products, or our own recommendations change, and we remove pages that no longer meet our bar rather than leaving them to decay.

Corrections