A cited answer is easier to audit, but a citation does not automatically prove the sentence beside it. Verification is still a human step.
1. Mark the claims that actually matter
Do not verify every sentence equally. Highlight numbers, dates, causal claims, legal/policy statements and claims that drive your decision.
2. Open the citation attached to each critical claim
Read enough surrounding context to see whether the source directly supports the wording or only discusses a related topic.
3. Check date and authority
Confirm the publication/update date and whether the source is primary, official, expert, journalistic, commercial or user-generated.
4. Look for source disagreement
For contested questions, ask for a second independent source and note where credible sources interpret the issue differently.
5. Rewrite unsupported claims
If a citation is weaker than the answer, narrow the claim to what the source actually establishes or label it as uncertain.
Audit your previous answer. For each high-impact factual claim, show: exact claim, citation, whether the source directly supports it, publication/update date, source type, and any caveat. Do not add new claims until the audit is complete.
Assuming citation placement guarantees support; reading only the search snippet; ignoring update dates; treating company marketing as independent validation; failing to distinguish reporting from opinion.
Finish check
A verified answer should contain fewer unsupported statements after the audit, not merely more links.