Terms of Service

Plain English, short on purpose. If anything here is unclear, email hello@surfaced.co.nz before you rely on it.

1. Who you're dealing with

Surfaced is operated by Ryan Gao trading as Surfaced, a sole trader based in New Zealand ("we", "us"). Surfaced is not a registered company. You can reach us at hello@surfaced.co.nz.

2. What the service is

Surfacedaudits and monitors how visible a website is to AI answer engines and search engines: a free instant audit, and paid plans that re-check your site, track AI answers to relevant questions, and compare you with competitors. We measure and report; we don't change your website.

3. Business use only

The service is supplied to businesses for business purposes. By using it you confirm you're acquiring it in trade. You and we agree that the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 does not apply, and that it is fair and reasonable to contract out of it (s 43). You and we also agree, to the extent permitted by s 5D of the Fair Trading Act 1986, to contract out of ss 9, 12A and 13 of that Act in respect of representations between us. Nothing in these terms limits rights that cannot lawfully be excluded.

4. No ranking guarantees

AI answers change from day to day and engine to engine. We guarantee our method — what we measure, how, and when — and we publish it. We do not and cannot guarantee that any AI engine or search engine will mention, cite, rank or recommend your business. Anyone who guarantees that is misleading you.

5. Fair use

Don't use the service to attack, overload or scrape sites you have no legitimate interest in, to break any law, or to resell audits without an agreement with us. Rate limits apply to the free audit. We may suspend accounts that abuse the service.

6. Payment, cancellation, refunds

Paid plans are billed in NZ dollars via Stripe, monthly in advance. No GST is added while we are not GST registered; if that changes we'll say so clearly before it affects your bill. You can cancel anytime and keep access until the end of the paid period. Your first payment carries a 14-day no-questions refund — see the refund policy.

7. Our liability

To the maximum extent the law allows, our total liability to you for anything arising out of the service is capped at the amount you paid us in the three months before the event. We're not liable for indirect or consequential loss, or for decisions you make based on scores and reports — they're diagnostic information, not professional advice.

8. Your data

The privacy statement explains what we collect and why, including that reports you generate may be stored so your permanent link works. Aggregated, anonymised statistics (e.g. "the average score of audited Hamilton plumbers") may be published; individual businesses are never named without consent.

9. Changes and governing law

We may update these terms; material changes will be flagged on this page (and by email for paying customers) before they take effect. These terms are governed by New Zealand law, and NZ courts have exclusive jurisdiction.