The source is part of the answer.
A competitor homepage can prove what the competitor says. It cannot, by itself, prove customer adoption, buyer preference, win rate or market impact.
- DecisionStart with what you must decide.
- EvidenceResearch what can actually answer it.
- BoundariesKeep unknowns and weak claims visible.
- ActionRespond only when the signal earns it.
The evidence ladder
Directly established
The cited source directly supports the statement.
Evidence-backed interpretation
Multiple observations support the interpretation, but it remains an inference.
Useful hypothesis
Potentially useful for testing, not strong enough for a high-impact decision alone.
Not established
Evidence is missing or insufficient. DataSnifferAI should say so.
Source ownership matters
Company-controlled
Useful for current positioning, packaging, feature and stated customer claims. Weak for proving independent adoption or preference.
Independent public
News, reviews, communities, third-party analysis and other independent observations can add corroboration but still require source-quality judgment.
Customer-supplied
CRM notes, call excerpts, deal context and internal evidence can change what can responsibly be concluded.
Unavailable / inaccessible
A source that cannot be retrieved or verified should not silently become “evidence.”
A claim must earn its confidence
Observation
What the source directly shows.
Interpretation
What that observation may mean.
Decision implication
Why it matters to this ICP and decision.
Action threshold
What additional evidence or business signal would justify a larger response.
Hard boundaries
- Public research does not create private win/loss data.
- A pricing page does not prove realized price or conversion.
- A case study is supplier-controlled proof unless independently corroborated.
- Social posts can reveal messaging and activity but do not automatically prove traction.
- Absence of public evidence is not proof that an event did not happen.
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