Editorial method

This page explains how the articles, resources and posts published on smartcto.fr and on the Smart CTO accounts are produced. It exists for two reasons. The first is a commitment to transparency toward readers. The second is a regulatory compliance topic that I also break down elsewhere on this blog (Article 50 of the AI Act). I might as well address it from the inside.

Editorial responsibility

All content signed Alex Galey or Smart CTO is published under my editorial responsibility. I choose the topics, the angle, the sources, I verify the figures and I weigh the opinions. I also assume legal responsibility for publication, within the meaning of article 6 of the French law of 21 June 2004 on confidence in the digital economy.

The production chain

An article goes through four stages before publication:

1. Editorial decision. Choosing the topic, the angle, the priority sources. This is where the content's added value is decided. This stage is not delegated.
2. Research and sourcing. Monitoring, reading, verifying figures, mapping the competitive landscape. Tools used: search engines, professional reading, analytics platforms, and an AI assistant to speed up the synthesis of large volumes. No source is cited without human verification against the primary source.
3. Writing. A first draft assisted by an AI assistant, based on a brief I validated beforehand. Then proofreading, rewording and reworking section by section. The assistant does not decide the content, it shapes a structured outline.
4. Final review. Source-by-source verification, adding field observations, weighing opinions, removing phrasing that sounds generic. This is the stage that turns a synthesis into a SmartCTO article.

What is AI-assisted, and what is not

To be precise about the scope:

• Assisted: documentary synthesis, first writing draft, rewording of technical passages, initial generation of frequently asked questions.
• Not assisted: choice of topics, angles, opinions, observations from the field, final review.

Sources

Every article cites its sources at the bottom of the page with a direct link and a short description. Every figure links back to its corresponding source through a clickable inline note.

The credibility hierarchy applied is, in order: institutional sources (CNIL, ANSSI, DGE, INSEE, Eurostat, European Commission), specialized press, recognized analyst firms, professional associations, and more rarely blogs from identified and verifiable experts. A source older than eighteen months is flagged as potentially outdated.

Article 50 of the AI Act: what applies to this site

Article 50 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 requires disclosure of the use of AI for published text intended to inform the public on matters of general interest. The same article provides an explicit exemption when AI-generated content has undergone human review or editorial control, and when a natural or legal person assumes editorial responsibility.

The articles published on smartcto.fr meet both criteria of the exemption. This page nonetheless exists, because a legal exemption is not enough to ground a posture of transparency. To dig into the exact mechanics of Article 50, the article Digital Omnibus 7 mai 2026 covers the topic in detail.

Visuals

The photographic illustrations used on the site come from Unsplash (see the legal notices for the credits in detail). No AI-generated visual is used in the articles to date. If that changes, the notice « visuel généré par IA » will be added to the relevant content.

If you find an error

A factual error, an outdated source, an awkward phrasing: contact+editorial@smartcto.fr. Corrections are made within a few days, and an update notice is added at the foot of the article when the correction concerns a figure or a central claim.

This page was last updated on 18 May 2026.