A citation makes an AI answer easier to investigate. It does not automatically make the answer true.
The source might describe a different subscription plan, refer to an older policy, or support only part of the sentence. Fact-checking means examining that connection between the statement and its evidence.
Studio Global Search provides cited answers you can inspect. Here is a practical process for checking those answers before using them in a report, recommendation, or public article.
Break the answer into checkable claims
Start with statements that could change a decision: prices, dates, product availability, legal requirements, statistics, and comparisons.
“The service supports exports, costs a fixed monthly price, and is the best choice for agencies” contains several different claims. The first concerns a capability, the second pricing conditions, and the third a judgment that needs explicit criteria.
Ask the AI to separate them:
Convert your previous answer into a claim-review table.
For each factual claim, list the cited source, the relevant date,
and the passage you believe supports it when available.
Separate facts from recommendations and assumptions.
Do not invent quotations or source passages. Mark missing evidence.
The table is a review aid. It is not an independent fact-check; you still need to open the sources.
Check what the citation actually says
Use the citation marker to open the source. Locate the relevant passage and compare it with the claim. Check conditions, exceptions, units, geography, and product version.
Here is an illustrative example using invented wording, not a statement about any real product:
| Item | Text |
|---|---|
| AI claim | Every plan includes spreadsheet exports. |
| Source passage | Spreadsheet exports are available on the Business plan. |
| Review decision | Unsupported as written: the claim extends one plan's feature to every plan. |
| Correction | The Business plan includes spreadsheet exports; other plans need checking. |
The source can be accurate while the AI's interpretation is wrong. A link to the right website is not enough if the linked page does not establish the specific assertion.
Check dates and scope
For time-sensitive claims, record when the information was published or last substantively updated and when you checked it. A current page may quote an older study. A recent article may describe a policy that has already changed.
Pricing needs particular care: currency, billing interval, taxes, promotional terms, and usage conditions can change the comparison. If you cannot establish the conditions, do not present a single number as universally applicable.
Use a focused follow-up in Search to find the official source rather than asking the AI to sound more confident.
Choose sources that fit the claim
Official documentation is useful for a product's documented behavior. Original research is preferable when interpreting study findings. Independent evidence matters when evaluating broad claims of superiority or market impact.
Several articles repeating the same press release are not several independent confirmations. Trace important claims back to their origin and keep vendor claims clearly attributed.
Google's helpful-content guidance also asks publishers to consider clear sourcing and easily verified factual errors. That makes source review an editorial responsibility, not just a research habit.
Decide what to keep, qualify, or remove
Give each important claim a disposition:
- Supported: the evidence establishes the statement within its stated scope.
- Qualified: the statement needs a condition, date, or attribution.
- Unresolved: evidence is missing, inaccessible, or conflicting.
- Removed: the claim is unnecessary or cannot be responsibly supported.
For legal, medical, financial, or similarly consequential decisions, use qualified review appropriate to the subject. AI citations do not replace professional judgment.
What if the source will not open?
Look for an accessible official version or another appropriate source. If you cannot inspect the evidence, mark it unverified. Do not treat a snippet, a remembered headline, or a fabricated quotation as a replacement.
For product controls, see the Search and citations guide. For the broader prevention process, read grounding AI answers.
Open Studio Global Search and check your next important claim.