Do not try to fact-check every sentence with the same effort. First find the claims that could cost money, harm someone, expose private information, or change an important decision.
AI can be useful for finding questions and organizing a check. It is not the final source for the answer you are checking.
Start with the risk, not the writing style
Mark a claim for checking when it involves:
- A current price, law, rule, deadline, schedule, or product feature
- A person’s health, safety, money, job, identity, or legal position
- A quotation, statistic, study, or named source
- A number used in a calculation or comparison
- A recommendation that would take substantial time or money
A spelling suggestion needs less checking than a medication, investment, contract, or travel requirement.
Five steps for checking an answer
Separate the claims
Turn a long answer into short statements you can test one by one.
Find the closest primary source
Prefer the organization that sets the rule, publishes the data, runs the product, or conducted the research.
Open the source
Do not trust a title or search snippet. Read the section that should support the claim.
Check date and scope
Confirm the country, plan, device, version, and date match your situation.
Record the result
Mark the claim as supported, contradicted, incomplete, or still uncertain. Do not force a yes-or-no result.
A worked check: Temporary Chat
Imagine an AI answer includes this sentence:
“Temporary Chats are deleted immediately, so you can safely paste sensitive information into them.”
Split it into two claims:
- Temporary Chats are deleted immediately.
- They are therefore safe for sensitive information.
OpenAI’s current Data Controls FAQ contradicts the first claim: it says Temporary Chats are deleted from OpenAI’s systems after 30 days, not immediately. The page says they do not appear in history and are not used to train models.
The second claim does not follow from those settings. A retention or training control does not make it wise to share passwords, financial details, private records, or confidential work.
Choose a source that can answer the claim
- Product behavior: the product’s current help center or documentation
- Law or government rule: the responsible government body
- Research finding: the original paper and its stated limitations
- Company result: the filed report, not a reposted chart
- Health question: a recognized health authority or qualified clinician
A primary source can still be incomplete or self-interested. For an important decision, compare it with an independent source that has the right expertise.
Check numbers separately
For a total, percentage, conversion, or comparison, write down the inputs and calculate again with a calculator or spreadsheet. Confirm that the units match.
List every number used in your answer, show the formula, keep the original units, and identify any value you estimated.
This can reveal hidden assumptions, but you still need to verify the inputs and repeat the calculation outside the answer.
Know when an AI check is not enough
Stop and use qualified help when an error could seriously affect health, safety, legal rights, employment, identity, or a large financial decision. Bring the sources and questions you collected; do not present the AI answer as evidence.
Before you rely on an answer
- I identified the claims that matter.
- I opened a source that can answer each claim.
- I checked the date, location, plan, and version.
- I repeated important calculations.
- I recorded what remains uncertain.
- I know whether a qualified person needs to decide.
Practice the method
Use follow-up questions to expose weak spots.
Ask the AI what it assumed, which claim is uncertain, or what evidence would change the answer.
Learn follow-up questions →Common questions
Can I ask the AI to check its own answer?
You can ask it to identify uncertain claims or possible mistakes, but that is only a review prompt. Verify important claims outside the same answer.
Is a link enough to prove a claim?
No. Open the link, confirm that the page exists, and check whether it actually supports the exact claim and is current enough for your question.
How many sources do I need?
One direct primary source may be enough for a simple product setting. Important or disputed decisions often need more than one independent source or qualified advice.
What should I do when sources disagree?
Check dates, definitions, locations, and whether the sources are answering the same question. If the disagreement affects a high-stakes decision, pause and ask a qualified person.