Check the sources behind an AI answer

You need information that may have changed: a train fare, opening hours or a rule. A web-searching assistant can answer quickly and show sources. Still, its answer is an AI summary: a source may be outdated, indirect or say something different from the answer. Review the sources to see what the answer is based on and whether they agree.

Ask for an answer that shows its sources

When an assistant searches the web, it first looks for pages and writes an answer based on them. It does not always search, and it does not always show where each fact came from. Ask for current information and a source for each fact separately. Sources, when available, usually appear at the end of the answer behind a sources button or as links within the text. The button name and location vary by service.

Check how much a train from Helsinki to Tampere costs tomorrow morning. For each fare, show which page it came from, and say if fares differ by departure time.

Review sources in five steps

1. 1

   Ask for a source for each fact

   Ask for current information and request the page source for every number, time or rule.

2. 2

   Open the source list

   See how many sources the answer used and which facts each one supports. If no sources are shown, ask the assistant to search the web and show them, or look up the information yourself.

3. 3

   Check who published it and when

   Prefer the organisation that publishes the information itself, such as the transport operator, shop or public authority. Check the publication or update date.

4. 4

   Open the decisive source and find the passage

   Open the source your decision depends on and find the passage that states the information. If you cannot find it, ask the assistant to quote the passage exactly, then locate the quote on the page yourself.

5. 5

   Ask for conflicting sources separately

   If the sources disagree, do not accept a blended answer. Ask for the information from each source separately.

Example: a train fare

The times and fares in this example are fictional. You sent the improved request above and received an answer with two sources.

Answer: “The 9:12 train costs €12.90 and the 10:12 train costs €9.90.” The sources are the operator’s timetable page and a fare-comparison site, but the answer does not say which source provided each fare. You ask: “Open the source for the 10:12 fare and quote the passage that states the price exactly.” The assistant quotes the comparison site: “Tickets from €9.90.”

• The quote does not support the answer: “from €9.90” does not say that the 10:12 departure costs that amount.
• So the fare has not been verified.
• You open the operator’s website and check the 10:12 fare before buying your ticket.

Open the source for the lowest fare and quote the passage that states the price exactly. Also say whether the price applies to the specific departure you mentioned.

When sources disagree

An assistant may blend two conflicting sources into one polished sentence, hiding the disagreement. Ask for each source’s information separately. Check which source originally published the information and when each was updated. Verify the decisive fact on the publisher’s own page. If that page is also outdated or the conflict remains unresolved, mark the information as uncertain.

Common pitfalls

• You read only the summary. The answer is an AI summary of sources, not a source itself. Open at least the source you are basing your decision on.
• You choose an intermediary from the source list. A fare comparison or news roundup may look just as authoritative as the original publisher’s page. Open the source that publishes the information itself first.
• You trust an old page. A search may surface a page from years ago, and the source list does not always show its age. Check the date on the page before relying on it.
• A blended answer hides a conflict. If the answer sounds neat but has multiple sources, ask for each source’s information separately and check whether they agree.

Check in one minute

• Do you know which source each fact came from?
• Is the decisive information from its original publisher, and has the page been updated recently?
• Did you find a passage in the source that says what the answer says?
• If the sources disagreed, did you see each source’s information separately?