For the press.
Yes, all of this is on the record.
The paragraph you may steal
The Gift Machine (thegiftmachine.ai) is an AI gift finder that takes gifts more seriously than you do. Shoppers answer six questions in about sixty seconds; the machine searches a hand-curated catalog and returns five gifts, each with a one-line reason specific to the recipient. It was built by one person and an AI, runs no ads, sets no cookies, and has never once recommended a gift card.
Attribution appreciated. Edits tolerated. Exclamation marks added at your own risk.
The facts, reluctantly formatted
- What it is
- An AI gift finder with taste. Six questions, sixty seconds, five gifts — each with an honest one-line reason.
- Founded
- June 2026, by one person and an AI, in a number of days we are happy to disclose on the record
- Founder
- Philip Ciaccio (personal venture)
- Headquarters
- A desk, New York
- Stack
- Next.js, Claude, and one very opinionated prompt
- Funding
- Affiliate commissions, disclosed loudly at /disclosure
- Business model
- When you buy through our links, the store pays us. Your price never changes. Our picks never bend.
Numbers we are prepared to defend
- Products in the catalog
- 258
- Each one vetted by
- an actual human with opinions
- Gift guides
- 17
- Maximum words in a "why it fits" line
- 18
- Exclamation marks on this entire website
- 0
- Cookies set on your device
- 0
- Ad trackers
- 0
- Gift cards recommended, ever
- 0
- Current version
- v0.6.9 (it says so in the footer — we have nothing to hide)
Catalog and guide counts update themselves at every release. The zeros are policy.
Questions we assume you have
Is it really AI? Yes — the tasteful kind. Claude reads what you tell us about the recipient and argues for five gifts in particular. A human curated every product it is allowed to argue for.
Can we interview the machine? The machine communicates exclusively in gift recommendations. The founder, however, answers email.
What if it picks a bad gift? Then we would like to hear about it more than you would like to tell us. There is a form.
Why a pistachio? Because the right gift is a small thing that opens. Also, it was never not going to be a pistachio.
Lines you may quote
“We take gifts seriously. So you don’t have to.”
“Five gifts you can defend at dinner.”
“We’re picky on your behalf.”
“The friend with great taste. No small talk required.”
Attribute to The Gift Machine, or to the founder if you need a human name.
Assets, ready to save
Brand card (1200×630): og.png · Mark: icon.svg · App icon: apple-touch-icon.png
The mark is a cracked pistachio: green center, shells falling at exactly ±34 degrees, caramel spark above. The spark fires once. It never loops. We are serious about this.
Reach a human
philciaccio@gmail.com or the contact form. Replies come from the founder, on account of there being exactly one of him.
See it working: the quiz · the guides · how the money works