A checklist for checking an AI-drafted post

A draft looks finished, so it gets posted, and then a customer points out the price is wrong. Drafts from AI tools can be wrong in ways that read as confident. Australia's privacy regulator says generative AI can produce answers that look credible but are inaccurate.¹ The OAIC advises human oversight of AI outputs, so a person with the facts in hand should check every draft.¹

Check one: facts and numbers

Compare each number, date, time and price with your own records. Never with the tool's output. Do it even for facts that seem obvious, like your own street address.

The ACCC's rule is that claims need reasonable grounds as well as being true.² Its list takes in prices, descriptions of what's offered, and shipping and delivery times.²

Check, too, that the price still applies. A sale that ended yesterday is a wrong post today.

Check two: claims and promises

Look for words that promise a result. "The cheapest", "cures", "works every time". If you can't prove it, cut it. Under the ACCC's rule, any claim you advertise is one you have to be able to prove.²

Your intent doesn't change this. The same page says intent makes no difference.²

Watch for the tool guessing. Guessing the facts is on the ACCC's list of things businesses shouldn't do.² A draft that fills a gap with a plausible detail does exactly that.

Also check what was left out. UK rules on unfair commercial practices say you can't mislead consumers through false or deceptive messages, or by leaving out important information.³ Australian and UK laws differ, so read the rules where you sell.

For health, finance or legal topics, don't let the tool make claims at all. Ask a qualified person, or leave the topic out.

Check three: names and places

Tools get names wrong. Check the spelling of people, suburbs, streets, products and other businesses. If a post mentions another business or a person, make sure it's right to name them and that they'd agree.

Never let a draft quote a customer unless the customer wrote it and gave you permission. Fake praise is a problem of its own.

Check four: tone and fit

Read it aloud. Does it sound like you, or is it too keen, too formal, too slick? Would you say it to a customer's face? Think about the day's news and what's happening in your town, since a cheerful post can land badly at the wrong moment.

Look at the post as a whole, not only line by line. Among the ACCC's advice for businesses is to confirm the general impression is right.²

Check five: private details

Scan for a customer's name, address, order or health detail that slipped in. If you wouldn't say it out loud in public, cut it.

Make the checklist a habit

Print the five checks. Tick them on paper or in your scheduler's notes. Where there's a second person, have them read the post too, because the writer tends to see what they meant. To fit these checks into a busy week, read about a repeatable routine.

If you only have time for one thing, check the numbers.