How to check an AI answer before you use it

1. Separate facts from suggestions

Read the draft and mark names, dates, quantities, comparisons, quotations, and claims about a source. These are details you can test. ‘Make the introduction shorter’ is a suggestion. ‘The survey had 400 respondents’ is a factual claim that needs support.

Check the highest-impact claims first. A wrong delivery date in an email may matter more than an awkward adjective. If a draft makes a recommendation, identify the facts underneath it. A recommendation built on an incorrect number can be misleading even if the reasoning sounds sensible.

2. Open the source and find the evidence

A link is a starting point, not proof. Open the page and look for the actual passage that supports the claim. Check the publication date, the population or product it describes, and any conditions around the statement. A true statement about one situation may not apply to another.

If the answer summarises a document you supplied, compare the draft with that document. If it makes a claim about something current, check the relevant original source. When you cannot find support, mark the detail as unverified or remove it. Do not replace one uncertain claim with another.

3. Recalculate the numbers that matter

Use a calculator or a spreadsheet for totals, percentages, and changes. Check the inputs as well as the arithmetic. Two numbers can both be correct and still belong to different reporting periods. Keep units visible, especially when a draft mixes quantities, prices, or durations.

Suppose a fictional support report records 128 tickets, with 96 answered within the target time. The on-time share is 96 ÷ 128 × 100 = 75%. If a draft calls that 80%, correct it. If it says performance improved, look for a comparable earlier period: the current figures alone do not establish an improvement.

Source: 128 tickets; 96 answered within the target time.
Calculation: 96 ÷ 128 × 100 = 75%.
Supported statement: 75% of tickets were answered within the target time.
Unsupported statement: The team improved its response rate.
Missing evidence: A comparable earlier period and the same definition of ‘within target’.

4. Ask the assistant to make review easier

You can ask the assistant to list its factual claims, separate assumptions, or point to supporting passages. That helps organise your review. It does not make the answer independently verified: check the resulting references yourself.

Google’s guidance on Gemini’s sources notes that not every response includes links, and those links can include related content. Use them to find evidence, then check whether the linked passage supports the specific claim.

List the factual claims in this draft. For each one, show the supporting passage from the supplied material, or write ‘not supported by the supplied material’. Separate calculations and assumptions. Do not add new facts to fill the gaps.

[Paste the draft and its source material.]

5. Make the last pass yourself

After corrections, check the final version again. Editing a paragraph can change the meaning of a number or remove a qualification. Make sure the draft still distinguishes a known fact, an estimate, and a proposed next step. Keep useful uncertainty visible instead of smoothing it away.

For an everyday draft, a short checklist may be enough. For work where an error would have serious consequences, follow the review process your organisation or the task requires. The useful habit is the same: know which evidence supports the answer before relying on it.

• Names, dates, and numbers match their sources.
• Links support the exact claim beside them.
• Calculations use the right inputs and units.
• Assumptions and missing information are labelled.
• The final wording has been reviewed by a person.