Which parts of an AI answer need verifying? Check anything that would mislead a buyer if wrong: numbers, product features, software capabilities, dates, prices, guarantees, and lines that sound like personal experience. Compare details against your own product notes or the provider's current information. Asking the same AI whether it was right isn't verification; use an independent source or test.
AI writes smoothly, and smooth writing looks finished. But a confident sentence isn't the same as a correct one. For marketers, an unchecked claim can mean a disappointed buyer or a promise you can't keep. This post supports the fact-checking section of our confident AI guide.
How do I decide what needs checking?
Ask one question: what happens if this is wrong? A suggested folder name can be wrong at no cost. A claim about what your bundle contains reaches customers. Spend your checking time where mistakes would mislead someone.
What's the checklist?
- Numbers. Counts, totals, percentages, and time estimates. Watch for minutes mixed with hours or items counted twice.
- Your own facts. You said 12 templates; does the draft still say 12?
- Product and software features. Can that file really be edited in that app? Test a copy.
- Dates and prices. Confirm against your current offer.
- Subscription and platform terms. These change. Check the provider's current information.
- Guarantees and implied results. Does the text make an outcome sound automatic?
- Personal experience. Remove "when I tested this" or "my customers always" unless it's true.
- Statistics and studies. If you can't find the source, cut it.
Why isn't asking AI "are you sure?" enough?
It may revise its answer, or it may repeat the same mistake with more confidence. Agreement from the same tool isn't evidence. Verify with something independent: your product files, the company's current help pages, or a direct test.
What's a product reference note?
A short document listing each product's name, contents, format, and current terms. Give it to AI as the source for any copy it writes, then check the draft against it line by line. The note is your record, not the tool's memory. Keep it with your saved files (see a simple system for saving your AI work).
What do I do with a doubtful claim?
Choose one:
- Verify it with a source or test.
- Rewrite it to say only what you can support. "Helps you organize your week" instead of "saves you 10 hours a week."
- Cut it. If the post works without it, that's often simplest.
Try this prompt: "Review this text for claims that need checking: [text]. Separate facts I gave you from details you added or assumed. Flag numbers, product features, dates, guarantees, and anything presented as personal experience. Don't invent evidence. Tell me what I'd need to verify."
What about health, money, or legal topics?
Stay within your expertise and get qualified review. AI doesn't make you an expert in a field you aren't trained in, and errors there can hurt readers.
Key takeaways
- Check where a mistake would mislead a buyer.
- Keep a product reference note and compare drafts to it.
- Same-tool agreement isn't verification.
- Verify, rewrite accurately, or cut.