A daily-life example

If AI gives the price of a plan, open the company’s official pricing page. Do not trust an old blog or the AI answer alone.

What to do

1. Mark every important fact

Look for statements that can be checked. A fact may be a price, date, feature, number, rule, research finding or company claim.

Example: “Tool X costs $20 per month” is a fact that should be checked.

2. Ask where the information came from

Ask the AI what source supports the answer. This can help you know where to start checking.

Do not trust a source name or link only because the AI gives it. AI can sometimes give an old, incorrect or invented source.

3. Open the original source

Whenever possible, check the original source yourself.

  • For a tool price, open the official pricing page.
  • For a government rule, open the official government website.
  • For research, look for the original paper or institution.

An original source is usually safer than a copied article or an old blog post.

4. Check date and exact wording

Even a real source can become outdated.

Check when the information was published or updated. Also read the exact wording carefully.

Example: A page may say “up to 100 uses” instead of “unlimited uses.” These two statements do not mean the same thing.

5. Correct or remove unsupported statements

If you cannot confirm a claim, do not present it as a fact.

  • Correct the statement.
  • Add uncertainty such as “according to the current official page.”
  • Remove the claim completely.

It is better to give a shorter correct answer than a longer answer with unsupported information.

Example: Checking an AI answer

Imagine AI says:

“Tool X costs $20 per month and includes unlimited image generation.”

Check it step by step:

  1. Open Tool X’s official pricing page.
  2. Confirm the current monthly price.
  3. Check whether the price is for monthly or annual billing.
  4. Read what “unlimited” actually means.
  5. Check whether limits, fair-use rules or extra charges apply.

After checking, rewrite the answer using only the information you could confirm.

Try this

Type this into the message box:

List the important factual claims in this answer. For each claim, tell me what original source I should check. Do not invent links.
Learn one useful technical term

Source

The original place where a fact, rule, price or research finding comes from.

Tools related to this article

These are relevant options—not a ranking.

Which tool is best?

Unbiased answer: A tool that shows links can make discovery easier, but the best checking method is still opening the original source.

Important safety check

A citation is not proof by itself. Confirm that the source supports the exact sentence.

Before moving to the next lesson

  • I opened the original source
  • I checked its date
  • I removed claims I could not confirm