Terms of Service

Draft. This template has not been reviewed by a lawyer. Have counsel review it before relying on it. Liability-waiver and limitation-of-liability language for personal injury is unenforceable in some states and is never enforceable against gross negligence or intentional wrongdoing anywhere; nothing here removes rights that cannot be waived by contract in your jurisdiction.

Effective July 19, 2026

1. What Stepwise is, and is not

Stepwise is a tool that generates and hosts step-by-step guides. The guides are authored entirely by automated AI systems ("the AI") that research public web sources on their own, without a human writing, reviewing, editing, fact-checking, or approving any individual guide before or after publication. Stepwise, its operator, and any person involved in building or running the tool do not review, verify, endorse, or vouch for the content of any specific guide, and take no position on whether any specific guide is accurate. We provide the tool; the AI produces the content. You are solely dealing with the output of that automated process, not with advice, endorsement, or representations from a human being.

2. No warranty; information only

Guides are provided "as is" and "as available," without warranties of any kind, express or implied, including accuracy, completeness, currency, fitness for a particular purpose, merchantability, or non-infringement. AI-generated content can be wrong, outdated, incomplete, or dangerous if followed literally. Nothing on Stepwise is professional advice of any kind, and it is not a substitute for a qualified professional (including medical, legal, financial, tax, engineering, electrical, or safety professionals).

3. Assumption of risk; your responsibility

By using a guide, you knowingly and voluntarily assume all risk of relying on it. You are solely responsible for evaluating, verifying, and deciding whether to act on any guide, and for all consequences of doing so, including any injury, loss, damage, or legal exposure. You agree that any decision to perform a task described in a guide, and any judgment about whether that task requires a licensed or qualified professional instead, is yours alone to make. Do not rely on a guide for any activity where an error could cause injury, loss, or legal exposure without independent verification and appropriate professional or expert guidance.

4. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Stepwise, its operator, and anyone involved in creating, hosting, or operating the tool are not liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, special, exemplary, or punitive damages, or for any injury, death, loss, or damage of any kind, arising out of or related to your use of the site, your use of the tool to generate a guide, or your reliance on any guide's content, regardless of the legal theory asserted (contract, tort, negligence, strict liability, or otherwise), even if advised of the possibility of such damages. Because the content is generated by an automated system and not by any individual, you agree that no individual associated with operating Stepwise is personally undertaking any duty of care to you with respect to the substance of any guide beyond operating the tool itself. Where any liability cannot be excluded under applicable law (including for personal injury caused by gross negligence, recklessness, or intentional acts, where such exclusion is not permitted), liability is limited to the greatest extent that law allows, and nothing in this section is intended to exclude liability that cannot lawfully be excluded.

5. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Stepwise and its operator from any claim, demand, loss, or damage, including reasonable attorneys' fees, arising out of your use of a guide, your violation of these Terms, or your violation of any law or third-party right.

6. Acceptable use

Do not use Stepwise for unlawful purposes, to seek instructions for causing harm, to abuse or overload the service, to circumvent rate limits or security, or to scrape at scale. We may restrict or remove access or content at our discretion.

7. Content you submit

Questions and error-correction flags you submit may be used to generate, verify, and improve public guides. Do not submit personal, confidential, or sensitive information. Submitted questions are processed by third-party AI providers (see the Privacy Policy).

8. Who operates Stepwise

Stepwise is currently operated by an individual as a sole proprietorship, not a registered company. References to "Stepwise," "we," or "us" mean that individual operating the site, in that capacity. This section will be updated if Stepwise is later operated through a registered business entity.

9. Changes

We may update these Terms. Continued use after a change means you accept the updated Terms.

10. Governing law

These Terms are governed by the laws of [YOUR JURISDICTION], without regard to conflict-of-laws rules. [Your lawyer should set the jurisdiction, venue, and any arbitration clause.]

11. Contact

[YOUR CONTACT EMAIL]