How We Test AI Tools
The process behind every ExportBench review, from the task we choose to how we score.
Every review on ExportBench comes from using the tool on a real export task. If we have not tested it, we do not review it.
1. We pick a real task
Each category has a set of standard tasks taken from day-to-day export work, for example:
| Category | Example test task |
|---|---|
| Lead Gen & Cold Email | Find 50 distributors of industrial equipment in Germany and send a 3-step sequence |
| Websites & SEO | Build a product landing page for buyers in Malaysia and check how it ranks after 30 days |
| Video & Voice | Turn a 2-minute product demo into Spanish and Russian versions with lip-sync |
| Translation | Translate a technical datasheet and a sales email into German and Russian |
| Social Media | Plan and schedule a month of LinkedIn posts for a B2B brand |
2. We use the plan most readers would buy
We sign up like any customer and use the plan that a small export team would realistically choose. The review names the plan and the price we paid. When a vendor gives us free access, we say so.
3. We record what happened
We take screenshots, time the task and note every problem: setup issues, bad output, hidden limits, support response time. Numbers in our reviews, such as open rates or time saved, come from our own runs and are labeled with the date.
4. We score against the same criteria
| Criterion | What we look at |
|---|---|
| Output quality | Is the result good enough to send to a real buyer without heavy editing? |
| Fit for exporters | Languages, time zones, international data, compliance with email and privacy rules |
| Ease of use | How long until a non-technical team member gets a useful result |
| Value | Price for what a small team actually needs, including add-ons |
| Reliability | Errors, limits and how the vendor handles problems |
5. We keep it up to date
Tools change fast. We recheck prices and key features at least every six months and show the "Updated" date at the top of every page. If a tool changes so much that our verdict no longer holds, we retest it.
What AI does in our process
We use AI to help organize notes, draft structure and check grammar. The testing, the judgments and the final text are done by people. We never publish a review of a tool we have not used.