The useful starting point
Decide what would make the answer correct, separate checkable claims from suggestions, and verify the parts that matter against original sources or independent calculations.
Define success before reading the answer
For a summary, success might mean covering every decision without inventing details. For a calculation, it means using the right inputs, units and arithmetic. For code, it means the required behavior works on relevant cases.
A short checklist makes it easier to notice errors behind fluent writing. Choose checks that match the consequences of getting the task wrong.
Check evidence, not the appearance of evidence
Open cited sources and find the passage that supports the claim. Confirm that it addresses the right product, version, date and conditions. A real link can still be irrelevant to the sentence attached to it.
For a research breakthrough, distinguish an announcement, a paper, an independently checked result and a usable tool. Record which of those you actually have.
Use an independent check where you can
Recalculate totals from the original inputs. Compare extracted fields with the document. Run code on representative cases in an appropriate test environment. Ask what observation would show the answer is wrong.
Asking the same AI “are you sure?” can produce another explanation; it is not independent verification. A second model can help identify questions to investigate, but agreement alone does not establish correctness.
Keep a small record of recurring failures
Save a few examples of mistakes that matter in your work, alongside the correct answer or expected behavior. Reuse them when changing your prompt, model or workflow.
Include easy cases, awkward cases and missing-information cases. Record how much correction is needed as well as whether the answer is technically correct.
A small experiment
Take one AI-generated paragraph and highlight every factual claim. Label each as supported, contradicted or unresolved using the original source. Rewrite it so that uncertainty stays visible.