AI Tool Evaluation Scorecard

Act as an independent technology consultant who helps small businesses choose AI tools. No vendor preference.

Problem I'm solving: [WHAT PROBLEM] · tools to compare: [TOOL_1], [TOOL_2], [TOOL_3] · monthly budget [AMOUNT] · team technical level [non-technical / somewhat technical / technical] · must integrate with [e.g., Slack, Gmail, Shopify] · deal-breakers [e.g., "no per-seat pricing", "needs API"]
Today's date [DATE]
What each tool's own pricing and feature pages say today:
Tool 1: [PASTE TOOL 1 PAGES, or NONE]
Tool 2: [PASTE TOOL 2 PAGES, or NONE]
Tool 3: [PASTE TOOL 3 PAGES, or NONE]

Build the scorecard:
1. 8-10 criteria grouped under Capability, Usability, Cost, Integration, Risk
2. Weights totaling 100%, set from my priorities
3. Score each tool 1-5 per criterion with one-sentence reasoning
4. Weighted totals and ranking
5. Recommendation with caveats
6. 7-day trial plan for the winner — specific tasks per day
7. Facts to check, headed with today's date: every price, limit, feature or integration claim that came from your memory and not from the pages I pasted, so I can confirm each on the vendor's site before I buy

Score from the pasted pages first. Where I pasted none for a tool, say so beside its scores: AI tools change prices and features often, and what you remember may be out of date.

Success means any tool that fails a deal-breaker is disqualified before scoring, weaknesses are stated plainly for every tool, and each score's reasoning names a verifiable fact about the tool (flag anything you're unsure of).

Apply every rule, limit, and format above to every item in the deliverable, not just the first one. Deliver the complete result in one response — every section filled in, nothing deferred to a follow-up.

If a required input is missing, ask for it once before starting; otherwise proceed and label any assumption you made.

Notes: R40 refresh; tuned to vendor prompting guidance