Strong starting point
The responsible public body, regulator, company, product documentation, original research or qualified professional.
Accuracy and judgement
How to check an AI answer before you trust it
AI can produce fluent, confident writing without knowing whether every claim is true. Use this five-step check whenever a factual mistake would cost money, waste time, affect someone’s health or change an important decision.
The key idea
Confidence is a writing style, not evidence
An AI answer can contain a correct explanation beside an invented quotation, an outdated rule or a link that does not support the claim. Asking the AI “Are you sure?” may produce another confident answer. Verification means leaving the chat and checking reliable evidence yourself.
First decide how much checking the answer deserves
A suggestion for a party game is low risk. Advice about symptoms, tax, benefits, investments, contracts, medication, electrical work or account security is high risk and needs an authoritative source or qualified person.
Repeatable method
The five-step answer check
- 01Separate facts from suggestions. Highlight names, dates, prices, rules, quotations, statistics and claims about what a person or organisation says.
- 02Ask what may be uncertain. Ask the AI to list assumptions, information that could be outdated and claims that need verification. Treat this as a checklist, not proof.
- 03Find the original authority. Go to the organisation responsible for the information: for example GOV.UK for government rules, the NHS for general UK health information or your bank’s official site for its procedures.
- 04Check the source and date. Confirm that the page actually says what the AI claimed, applies to your country or circumstances and is current enough for the question.
- 05Stop if the evidence conflicts. Do not average two incompatible answers. Ask a qualified professional or the responsible organisation before acting.
Try a source check without sharing personal details
Start with a fact you can check directly. You do not need an AI account for this exercise.
Claim to check
OpenAI publishes the official ChatGPT app for Android.
- 01Open the original source. Read OpenAI's Android app help page (new tab). Find the section about downloading the app.
- 02Follow the official listing link. Check the publisher named on Google Play. You do not need to install the app to read its listing.
- 03Compare the exact claim. Does the help page identify an official app, and does the linked listing name OpenAI? Decide what the evidence supports before opening the explanation below.
Show the explanation after I have checked
The claim was supported when this guide was checked on : OpenAI's help page links to the official app, and its Google Play listing names OpenAI. The evidence applies to that linked listing. A matching logo or a similar app name would not establish that a different app is official.
What if I cannot open the source?
Mark the claim as unverified for now. A broken or inaccessible link does not establish whether a claim is true. Use another official route to the responsible organisation, or pause before acting.
This is a source-checking exercise, not a captured ChatGPT reply. Apply the same method to a factual claim in your own AI answer: identify it, find the responsible source, compare the wording and note what remains uncertain.
Worked example
Checking a claim about a travel document
Illustrative claim for practice
“Your passport always needs six months remaining when you travel abroad.”
This is an example claim to question, not a recorded AI response or a verified rule for your trip. Travel-document rules depend on the destination, passport type, issue date and travel dates. A safer process is:
- 1Identify the exact destination and travel dates.
- 2Use the destination’s entry-requirements page linked from GOV.UK foreign travel advice.
- 3Check the passport requirements stated there rather than relying on the general claim.
- 4Recheck near the travel date because requirements can change.
The goal is to find the rule that applies to the actual journey.
Source quality
Use the source closest to the fact
Useful supporting source
A reputable organisation that links clearly to its evidence and shows when the page was reviewed.
Not enough alone
An AI summary, search snippet, anonymous post, copied article or citation you have not opened.
For money-related claims, confirm that a firm and its contact details match the Financial Conduct Authority register. For health concerns, use NHS information and contact an appropriate healthcare professional. In an emergency, use the official emergency route rather than an AI chat.
Helpful follow-up
Ask the AI to expose what needs checking
Verification prompt
Separate your answer into: facts, assumptions, suggestions and points that may be out of date. For each factual claim, tell me what type of primary source should confirm it. Do not invent links or quotations.
This can organise your work, but it does not verify the answer. Open the sources yourself and compare the exact claim.
If the source contradicts the reply, use the verified information and explain the correction in the chat. If the evidence is missing or unclear, keep that uncertainty in your notes and avoid acting on the disputed claim.
Check your own answer next
Choose one factual claim from a reply you have received. Write down the claim, the original source you opened, what it actually says and what remains uncertain. A private paper note is enough; you do not need to submit your chat or personal details to Spinnit.
What does a completed check look like?
You can explain whether the source supports the exact claim, whether it applies to your situation and what you could not verify. If you could not find reliable evidence, saying “I have not verified this” is a valid result. Reading another confident AI answer is not a substitute for the source check.