Verify before you use it

Treat AI output as a competent first draft written by someone who hasn't checked their sources, not as a finished, verified answer.

What this looks like in practice

• Independently check any fact, figure, date, citation, or quote before it appears in anything that matters.
• Read the whole output critically rather than skimming and accepting it because it sounds fluent and confident.
• Be especially careful with anything involving numbers, legal claims, or specific named sources, these are the areas most prone to confident errors.

The time saved by using AI to produce a first draft is real. The time saved by skipping verification is an illusion, because the cost of an error that reaches a client or a decision-maker is far higher than the time it takes to check.