AI-assisted practical guide. Examples are hypothetical; these are proposed editorial methods, not reported research results.
Verifying a summary against a source document is intended to help check that every claim is grounded in evidence and prevents the AI from introducing hallucinations. By numbering the source paragraphs, you create a coordinate system that allows the AI to map specific assertions back to their origin. This process transforms a general review into a precise audit, making it easier for a human editor to spot unsupported statements or misinterpretations.
Establishing the Verification Framework
To begin, assign a sequential number to every paragraph in your source text. When you prompt the AI, instruct it to analyze the summary and append a parenthetical reference to the corresponding paragraph number for every single claim. You should suggest that the AI flag any sentence that cannot be traced back to a specific paragraph. For difficult cases where a claim spans multiple sections, suggest that the AI list all relevant paragraph numbers. If the AI struggles to find a match, it should mark the claim as unverified rather than attempting to guess the location.
Hypothetical example
Imagine you have a source text about a fictional city called Oakhaven. Paragraph 1 describes its coastal location, and Paragraph 2 explains its economy based on bioluminescent fungi. Your summary says Oakhaven is a seaside town that earns revenue from glowing mushrooms. A successful AI output would look like this: Oakhaven is a seaside town (Para 1) that earns revenue from glowing mushrooms (Para 2). If the summary added that the city has a high population, but the source text never mentioned population, the AI should output: The city has a high population (Unverified).
Validating the Final Output
The final check requires a manual spot check of the references to ensure the AI did not simply assign numbers randomly to appear compliant. Pick three random claims from the summary and navigate directly to the cited paragraph in the source document. Confirm that the original text actually supports the specific nuance of the claim. A common error occurs when an AI cites a paragraph that mentions the general topic but does not contain the specific fact claimed in the summary. Your deliverable is only accurate if the source paragraph provides explicit evidence for the summary's assertion.
To implement this, use a prompt such as: Please review the following summary against the numbered source paragraphs. For every claim in the summary, add the paragraph number where the information is found. If a claim is not supported by the text, label it as Unverified.
Input: Source: [1] The sky is green. [2] The grass is blue. Summary: The sky is green and the grass is red. Output: The sky is green (Para 1) and the grass is red (Unverified).
A human check should specifically look for instances where the AI cites a paragraph that contains a contradictory fact rather than a supporting one.