Post Date: March 9, 2026

How to Fact-check AI

Generative AI can be an incredible time-saver, but it also can be a slippery slope toward incorrect information and absurd answers.

If you’ve used AI to create Excel formulas, write an email or summarize meetings, you may have experienced a phenomenon known as AI hallucination, which is when a chatbot gives you a false or misleading response.

Large language models that make up generative AI draw on online sources that can be biased, outdated or just plain wrong. In fact, you’ve probably seen disclaimers when you use ChatGPT or Copilot that say AI-generated content may be inaccurate.

Given this, we should take every AI response with a grain of salt.

But how do we know what’s true, false or misleading?

We’ll discuss the best ways to ensure your AI prompts are correct so you can avoid acting on or sharing misinformation.

AI can save your team hundreds of hours per week in busy work, but it isn’t an all-knowing replacement for good old-fashioned research.

5 Ways to Fact-check AI-generated Content

Follow these tips to ensure the responses from AI are accurate:

Verify with trusted sources: Cross-check the information you get from AI with trustworthy sources, such as research papers, government websites, academic institutions and established news outlets.
Use research-focused AI tools: AI chatbots like Elicit and Consensus are grounded in scholarly sources, meaning they will be more factual than a generic Google search. If possible, use sources with a URL ending in “.org,” as they generally are noncommercial and not trying to sell you anything.
Ask for sources: AI usually pulls from multiple sources, but it may not cite them correctly. Most chatbots do a good job of telling you the source material for their prompts, but if it doesn’t, you can always ask it where it got the information.
Watch for bias: The source material AI is using could be biased or misleading. Investigate whether the information presents multiple perspectives or whether bias may be influencing the content.
Check the date: News changes quickly, and AI may provide outdated information. Verify the publication dates of the news articles AI cites to ensure you are receiving the most up-to-date information.

AI will continue to improve, not only in its responses but also in its fact-checking, to ensure it provides reliable information.

But just like any news you find on social media or a Google search, any information you receive from AI should be confirmed from reputable sources before sharing or acting on it.

And of course, use your best judgment. When something sounds too good or too outlandish to be true, it probably is. Remain skeptical and don’t overly trust AI.