How we check our data

Where the information comes from

Open sources: the businesses’ own websites and pages, maps, directories, registries and articles about them. A conversation with the business, by phone or messages. And visits, when we go and see the place ourselves.

Every listing shows each source and the date we looked at it. Machine translation and AI answers are never counted as sources.

When a listing goes live

It needs one of three grounds. At least two unrelated publishers wrote about the business independently — two pages of one site count as one. Or the business has a channel of its own (a website, a page, a messenger) and we have been in touch with it by phone or messages. Or we have been there in person.

However many pages a business runs about itself, they are one voice. Each listing says which of the three grounds it stands on.

Two exceptions. First, the official stores of mobile operators (Viettel, VinaPhone, MobiFone, Vietnamobile). They belong to the operator itself and serve tourists every day, so one dated source is enough — maps or the operator's own website. Private shops reselling SIM cards follow the general rule.

Second, currency exchange points licensed as a bank's agent (in Vietnam money may only be changed at a bank or at such an agent, often a jewellery shop). The licence is visible — a «Đại lý đổi ngoại tệ» sign naming the bank, or the bank's own list of agents — so one dated source is enough: maps or the bank's website. We do not list shops without a licence.

What “Checked by VietGid” means

The box at the top of a listing names only what one of those grounds confirms: that the business exists, its address, phone and messengers. “Website responds” is an automatic check — a program opens the business’s website about once a month.

Languages spoken and opening hours are, for now, as stated by the business and the sources; we do not confirm them separately, so they get no tick.

This is about the quality of our data, not of the business. We have no ratings, stars, “best of” lists or reviews.

When sources disagree

We do not quietly pick a winner. The discrepancy is recorded as it is — say, two different ward names on two pages of the same website — and shown in the source notes.

How often we re-check

Business websites are checked by a program about once a month. Businesses confirmed in conversation are re-checked about every three months. If the last check is more than six months old, the listing says so.

How we use AI

Most of the work is done by AI (Claude): it finds sources on businesses, checks them against each other, and writes the listings and guides along with their English and Vietnamese versions. It writes only from the sources it has gathered and by the rules above — no prices, ratings or “best of”.

AI itself is never a source of fact. If something appears only in a chatbot’s answer, it does not appear in the directory. The site search also runs on AI, but it only works out what you are asking and picks listings — the answer comes from the directory, not from the model.

The project owner sets the rules, calls and messages businesses and visits them. Photos captioned “Photo by VietGid” with a date are the owner’s own pictures, not taken from maps or other websites.

How we fix mistakes

Every listing has a “Report a mistake” form: a wrong address or phone, a business that has closed, or a request to remove your own listing. The message reaches the editors and the details are re-checked against the sources.

If there are signs a business has stopped operating but we have not confirmed it yet, the listing shows “Status being checked — call before you go”. A closed business leaves its section’s list, but its page stays, marked as closed, so you do not have to search for it again. What has changed in the directory is on the updates page.

Our own company in the directory

VietGid is made by TERRA BY HUSTLE, which is also listed in the directory under vehicle rental. Its listing follows the same rules as every other one: sources, dates, checks. It gets no higher place than anyone else, and both the listing and its ads are marked as the VietGid owner’s company.