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An AI answer can contain a correct explanation beside an invented quotation, an outdated rule or a link that does not support the claim.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 Ask the AI to list assumptions, information that could be outdated and claims that need verification.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.
Worked example
Checking a claim about a travel document
AI answer
“Your passport always needs six months remaining when you travel abroad.”
This sounds simple but 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 not to make the AI rewrite the claim more persuasively. It 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.