Compare the answer with your original task and source material. Verify important facts, names, dates, calculations and citations independently. Look for missing information and unsupported assumptions, then decide whether to use, revise or stop. A confident tone is not evidence that an answer is correct.
For anyone who uses AI-generated summaries, drafts or analysis and wants a practical review routine.
1. Check that it answered your actual question
Read your original request again. Check the audience, scope, format and constraints. A polished response can still answer a different question or leave out the important part.
- Does it solve the task I asked for?
- Does it include the required details and respect exclusions?
- Does it distinguish a suggestion from an agreed action?
2. Trace facts back to evidence
For important claims, open the original source yourself. Check that it exists, supports the specific statement and is relevant to the date and context. An AI-generated citation or quotation is a lead to verify, not proof.
- Check names, dates, quotes and attributed statements against the source.
- Use the current official source for changing product features or rules.
- If evidence is missing, mark the claim unverified or remove it.
- Asking the same tool whether it is correct is not an independent check.
3. Recalculate numbers and inspect assumptions
Use the original figures and a calculator or spreadsheet. Check units, denominators, date ranges and whether a percentage means a relative change or a percentage-point difference.
4. Look for gaps that change the conclusion
Ask what information is missing, whether the source covers the whole situation and whether an assumption was presented as a fact. A useful review can end with a question rather than a completed answer.
- Are there missing owners, dates or definitions?
- Does a small example get presented as a general rule?
- Has correlation been presented as cause?
- Does the answer acknowledge conflicting or incomplete evidence?
5. Decide: use, revise or stop
Use the result only when the checks needed for the task are complete. Revise small errors you can resolve. Stop when essential evidence is missing or the decision needs expertise or authority you do not have. Keep a person responsible for the final decision.
- Use: the result meets the brief and its important claims are supported.
- Revise: the source lets you correct a specific error or omission.
- Stop: a material claim is unverified, key data is missing or further review is required.
Make it yours
Use these questions in your notes, or fill in the printable worksheet in the PDF.
Task fit
The answer meets the audience, scope, format and constraints.
Facts and sources
Important names, dates, quotes and links match sources I opened.
Numbers
I checked calculations, units and the baseline.
Assumptions and gaps
Unknown details are labelled; unsupported claims are removed.
Sharing and responsibility
The content is appropriate to share, and a person owns the final decision.
My decision
Use / revise / stop. What needs to happen next?
Common questions
Can I ask another AI tool to verify the answer?
It can help you spot possible issues, but agreement between tools is not proof. Verify material claims against original sources or another appropriate independent method.
Does this checklist guarantee accuracy?
No. It is a review aid. The checks you need depend on the task, and some decisions require expert review or more evidence than this checklist can provide.
Should I check every sentence equally?
Prioritise claims that affect a decision or commitment: figures, dates, instructions, factual assertions and promises. Also check the overall meaning; a summary can be misleading through omission.