Treat an AI answer as an unverified draft, not as evidence. Before you act, separate it into individual claims, open and check any citations, trace important points to authoritative sources, and confirm that the information is current and applies to your situation. For decisions affecting health, legal rights, money, safety, or access to services, consult a qualified professional or the responsible authority.
How do I fact-check an AI answer?
Check the answer claim by claim. A response can get some details right while misstating a date, number, quotation, rule, or instruction elsewhere. Fluent writing and a confident tone do not establish accuracy. The National Institute of Standards and Technology recommends using fact-checking techniques to verify information generated by AI, particularly when it comes from multiple or unknown sources (NIST Generative AI Profile, 2024).
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- List the claims that matter. Pull out specific dates, figures, quotations, rules, named studies, instructions, and cause-and-effect statements. Prioritize claims you would rely on to make a decision.
- Open every citation. Check that the source exists, is what the answer says it is, and supports the exact claim. A link or reference is not proof by itself; AI-generated citations can be fabricated or misrepresented. The House of Commons Library’s guidance on working with AI recommends verifying generated facts and citations.
- Follow the claim to its original evidence. When possible, use the regulation, official data, research paper, product documentation, or institution being discussed rather than relying on a summary. Read the surrounding text and definitions so you do not mistake a qualified finding for a universal rule. The Library’s guide to checking facts describes tracing claims to original sources or comparing independent accounts.
- Evaluate the source. Consider who produced it, their expertise and purpose, how well the claim is supported, and whether it is relevant to your question. If uncertainty remains, look for corroboration from a genuinely independent source. The Library’s source-evaluation guide frames this around authority, motivation, accuracy, and relevance.
- Check date, location, and conditions. Look for publication or update dates, jurisdiction, eligibility rules, and any conditions that limit a recommendation. For changing policies or services, check directly with the agency, regulator, professional body, or service responsible for the current information. The Government of Canada’s guide to generative AI says AI output should not be treated as authoritative and should be checked against trusted sources or an expert.
- Keep unresolved claims unresolved. Mark a claim unverified, seek qualified help, or do not act on it. Asking another chatbot and receiving the same answer is not a substitute for checking evidence.
How to choose between sources
When sources disagree, compare them on the points that determine whether they actually answer your question:
- Authority and expertise: Is the source responsible for the rule, or qualified to discuss the subject?
- Proximity to evidence: Does it provide the original document, data, or study, or repeat someone else’s summary?
- Date and jurisdiction: Is it current, and does it apply where you live or to your circumstances?
- Fit: Does it address the precise claim, rather than a related but different question?
- Transparency: Are methods, uncertainty, and relevant conflicts of interest made clear?
- Independent corroboration: Does another source reach the same conclusion using evidence of its own?
These checks help distinguish a source that sounds credible from one that is both relevant and well supported.
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When AI advice needs a human check
Escalate when an error could affect your health, legal rights, finances, safety, or access to services. Use a qualified professional or the official authority responsible for the decision; do not let a chatbot replace their judgment.
Health advice deserves particular care. The World Health Organization warned that large language models can produce responses that sound authoritative and plausible while being completely incorrect or containing serious errors, especially on health topics. Its 2023 warning concerns health information, decision support, and possible diagnostic use, and calls for appropriate oversight and evidence of benefit before routine widespread use. It is a health-specific caution, not proof that every use of AI is unsafe. For health-related claims, also check the author, the sources behind the claim, the reliability of the outlet, and current official evidence-based information (WHO, 16 May 2023; WHO guidance on disinformation and public health).
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What an AI answer cannot tell you on its own
There is no well-defined general error-rate figure here that can tell you how often AI advice is wrong or how often people catch mistakes. A meaningful percentage would need to match the particular model, task, population, and way errors were measured. NIST’s profile is risk-management guidance, not a consumer study of error rates. The practical response is to verify the claims that matter rather than infer reliability from an unsupported overall number.
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