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For more than 40 years, earning and maintaining the trust of our readers has been our top priority at PCMag. Our editorial team is dedicated to the following principles, which ensure that we always deliver high-quality service journalism you can rely upon. To learn more about who we are and what we do, see our editorial masthead.
Excellence
At PCMag, we’re committed to world-class, original technology journalism.
We develop our stories through testing, research, and interviews, along with our deep product and industry experience. We do not employ artificial intelligence (AI) tools to create original written content, photos, or video. (Read more about our AI Policy below.)
Our reviews are based on test results that remain consistent across like products. PC Lab's testing methodologies are designed to deliver accurate, repeatable, objective results, and we work hard to continually evolve our testing methods.
Independence
PCMag is the independent guide to technology.
Editorial coverage is determined solely by the editorial team for the benefit of our audience.
Editorial reviews, recommendations, and conclusions are crafted without any personal, advertising, marketing, or other business considerations. Our affiliate marketing team places and optimizes buying links on some of our pages; if you buy through those links, we may earn commissions. Those pages are tagged with appropriate affiliate disclosures.
Our editorial team does not make paid endorsements, nor do we produce paid content. We have a marketing team that works with vendors to create branded content, and that content is disclosed as advertising.
PCMag's parent is Ziff Davis, a media company that also owns several software and SaaS products. Since we cover the full technology realm, we routinely test, evaluate, and report on those products, and we disclose our relationship in those stories.
Editorial staffers cannot accept any compensation or gifts of significant value from vendors including paid travel or press junkets. PCMag pays for staff travel expenses including airfare and hotel for event coverage. Our team members may not own stock in companies within our coverage area.
Trust
We strive to create honest, objective editorial reviews and reporting.
There are no paid reviews on our website, and we do not accept unsolicited content submissions or link requests.
We work with vendors and will sign and honor embargoes to provide timely and accurate information to our readers. Embargoes define the timing of coverage, not its scope, nature, or editorial perspective.
During the testing and review process, we give vendors the opportunity to address concerns as we discover them. We do not, however, accept preconditions or allow vendors to preview our reviews before publication.
Evaluation software provided for testing shall not be distributed beyond the editorial team. Hardware products loaned for evaluation remain the property of the vendor and are typically returned within 90 days (or earlier at the request of the vendor). On occasion, we will keep products longer to evaluate them for an extended time period.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy
We are a seasoned editorial team with decades of combined experience covering our respective beats. We hold ourselves to high editorial standards. AI cannot replace our most important asset: our experts, whose main mission is to help you find the right technology to fit your life.
We may, at times, use AI tools to assist us with tedious, time-consuming tasks so we can focus on delivering original hands-on, lab-tested product reviews, insightful buying advice stories, helpful service journalism, and timely technology news. The following are our guardrails for AI use in our editorial processes. AI workflow implementations are closely overseen by our editorial leadership team.
We Do Not Use AI Tools for…
Original writing, reporting, or editing: Our stories and reviews are reported on, penned by, and edited by our writers and editors.
Photos or videos: Our staff photographers and videographers or members of our editorial team capture our images and videos. We sometimes use third-party images or videos from vendors or other sources, and we appropriately credit those originators. We do test and evaluate AI tools like chatbots and image and video generators. In those cases, we may generate AI-produced text, images, or videos as examples of their capability and to compare output among like products.
Product testing or recommendations: Our writers and editors test and use thousands of products each year to inform our ratings and reviews to help you decide what to buy. Every product we review is hand-tested by an expert. We do not employ AI in our testing or product recommendation processes. (Read more about How We Test Everything We Review.)
We May Use AI Tools for…
Transcription and note-taking
Streamlining information and large data sets
Brainstorming and generating potential story, art, and video ideas
Finding sources
Suggesting alternative story packaging
A Few More Things to Note
Our AI policy applies to work produced by our editorial team. Content produced by external advertising partners and labeled as sponsored is not subject to our editorial policies.
Maggie, our AI-powered shopping assistant, is a custom large language model (LLM) trained solely on PCMag content. (Read more about Maggie.)
In April 2025, Ziff Davis, PCMag’s parent company, filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems. We include this disclosure in stories that cover OpenAI or its products. It does not impact our coverage.
As AI evolves, we'll continue to look for new ways to use its tools to help us simplify our work so we can focus on the important business of dispensing insightful, original, expert-driven technology buying advice. We'll use this page to update you on our progress.
For more information, contact PCMag.
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About Our Expert
I'm the Editor-in-Chief of PCMag.com and the Vice President of Content for Ziff Davis. I oversee the editorial operations of PCMag and ExtremeTech.com, leading more than 65 writers, editors, and contributors, steering PC Labs, reviews, and product coverage, as well as news, expert commentary, and service journalism across the sites.
Back when the first iPhone was released, I started at PCMag as a senior editor covering consumer electronics and mobile reviews. After that, I went on to head up the reviews team as executive editor. And most recently I served as deputy editor, managing PCMag's editorial team and day-to-day operations. I've covered more product releases and have edited more reviews, roundups, and buying guides than any human reasonably should, each and every one contributing to the noble pursuit of helping you find the right technology to fit your life.
Before joining PCMag, I was the managing editor of Computer Shopper. I earned my master's degree in magazine journalism from New York University. (Nope, the irony of witnessing the deaths of both of the print magazines I've managed is not lost on me.)
Though I rarely have the opportunity to write these days, I still crave the rush that comes from crafting the perfect headline and enjoy nothing more than a spirited AP Style debate.
In my quarter-century-long journalism career, my main areas of focus have been mobile technology and electronics, but I've managed to cover most aspects of consumer and business technology. These days, I spend most of my time strategizing in endless video calls. I'm an ace at sharing my screen and telling people who are already speaking that they're muted.
I'm a Mac. Always have been, since my family got our first computer, the Apple IIe, in the early '80s. More irony: I was the first staff editor to use an Apple computer instead of a PC to edit reviews for PCMag. Today, my main computers are a Mac Studio with Pro Display and a 13-inch MacBook Pro. I've carried an iPhone since 2008, and proudly display the click-wheel iPod in my office. My 12-year old stole my iPad a long time ago and now he's eyeing my AirPods. I have more smart devices installed in my home than most people on the planet, and I drive an electric Mini Cooper SE and have become mildly obsessed with EV charging. There's a video game museum in my basement.
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