Check an AI summary one factual claim at a time against the original material and, where the stakes justify it, independent authoritative evidence. A summary can sound polished while misstating a detail, citing a weak source, or leaving out a qualification that changes the meaning. Treat it as a draft to verify—not as evidence in itself.
What to check in an AI summary
Break the summary into claims that can be checked separately. Include names and roles, dates, figures, quotations, attributions, legal or policy descriptions, and statements about causes, comparisons, or what a source concludes. Split compound sentences: a sentence can contain one supported detail and another that is not.
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Do not infer accuracy from confidence, fluency, or specificity. The House of Commons Library advises identifying claims and checking them against primary or authoritative sources; its briefing puts the principle simply: “AI should be treated as an assistant, not an authority.” House of Commons Library guidance on working with AI (19 May 2026).
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- Extract each factual claim. Write or mark one proposition at a time, including numerical claims, quotations, dates, named entities, and attributions.
- Trace it to evidence. Follow citations to the primary document, dataset, legislation, official statement, or original study where possible. If the summary gives no citation, find an authoritative source independently. A link is not proof merely because it mentions the same topic.
- Open and inspect every cited source. Confirm that it exists, is relevant, and supports the exact wording of the claim. Government of British Columbia guidance specifically recommends checking whether references are real, relevant, and reliable. British Columbia guidance on reviewing generative AI outputs.
- Read enough context to test fidelity. Check definitions, surrounding paragraphs, population or geography, timeframe, caveats, and uncertainty. Ask whether the evidence establishes the exact proposition—not merely a related one—and whether any statistic has been described with the right scope.
- Compare the overall meaning. Read the original material rather than relying only on excerpts or the AI’s description. Look for omitted conditions, exceptions, counterpoints, uncertainty, or risks that could change the takeaway. UK government guidance warns against using generative AI output as the only source on a topic; Microsoft likewise cautions that a summary can omit a risk relevant to a decision.
- Assess source quality and independence. Consider who produced the evidence, their authority and motivation, whether they are reporting original evidence, and whether corroboration is genuinely independent. Lateral reading—leaving a page to check its publisher and find other accounts—is one method discussed by the House of Commons Library. House of Commons Library guidance on evaluating sources.
- Record a result for each claim. Mark it supported, contradicted, unsupported, or needing qualification, and keep a note of the evidence checked. These labels are a practical review method, not a formal classification from the cited guidance.
- Resolve or remove uncertainty. For a consequential, specialist, or disputed claim, seek a qualified human reviewer. If the evidence does not substantiate it, qualify it, label it unverified, or remove it instead of repeating confident-sounding prose.
- Do a final human review before publishing or acting. Recheck the claims with the greatest consequences and follow any disclosure requirements in your organization’s policy. Google Search Central says AI-generated web content should be manually fact-checked for accuracy and trustworthiness before publication. Google Search Central guidance on generative AI content.
How to judge whether a source supports a claim
Use these questions when reviewing evidence. They help distinguish a source that merely discusses a subject from one that can actually support the summary’s wording.
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- Authority and proximity: Is this the original record, dataset, law, study, or statement? Is the publisher competent to address the subject?
- Accuracy and traceability: Does the source show its evidence, and does it represent that evidence faithfully?
- Date and scope: Is it current for this claim? Do its geography, population, timeframe, and definitions match?
- Context and completeness: Are caveats, uncertainty, exceptions, and relevant counterevidence visible?
- Motivation and independence: Could the source have a reason to frame the claim a particular way? Is any corroboration genuinely independent?
- Claim-source fit: Does the evidence establish this precise proposition, or only something related?
When the summary has no citation—or the claim is high-stakes
For an uncited claim, locate authoritative evidence independently rather than treating the summary as its own source. The Commons Library identifies official statistics, primary legislation, government departments, regulators, peer-reviewed research, and its own briefings as examples of reputable material. Prefer the original evidence when it is available, and check whether another independent authoritative source confirms important or disputed claims.
For decisions involving material consequences, specialist knowledge, or contested facts, do not rely on the summary alone. UK government guidance says, “Do not use generative AI (Artificial Intelligence) outputs as your only source of information on any one topic.” Microsoft’s support guidance makes the accountability point directly: “Using AI doesn’t transfer accountability.” Microsoft: Validate Copilot output before you act on it. If the claim remains unresolved, ask a qualified reviewer or leave it out.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What not to use as a substitute for verification
A citation generated by AI may be nonexistent, outdated, unrelated, or weaker than the claim it is attached to. Open it and inspect its relevance and support. A summary can also retain individual facts while changing the source’s overall meaning by dropping context. And an AI detector cannot tell you whether a factual statement is correct: accuracy requires checking the claim against evidence.
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The Government of Canada’s guidance notes that generated content can appear credible while being inaccurate. That is why the review must focus on what each statement says and what reliable evidence establishes—not on how authoritative the prose sounds. Government of Canada guide on generative AI.
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