Best Practices
The Fact-Checking Fallacy
Why using AI to verify simple facts is often slower, less reliable, and more wasteful.
3 min readUpdated Feb 1, 2026
The Fact-Checking Fallacy
Using AI to verify simple facts is often counterproductive.
Why AI Fact-Checking Fails
1. It's Slower
AI needs to process your query. Google returns instant results with sources.
2. It's Less Reliable
AI can hallucinate. Search engines show verified, cited sources.
3. It Wastes Resources
A simple search uses minimal compute. AI queries use 10× more energy.
4. It's Often Outdated
Most AI models have knowledge cutoffs. Search is current.
Better Alternatives
| Question Type | Best Tool |
|---|---|
| Facts & figures | |
| Current events | News sites |
| Calculations | Calculator |
| Time/weather | Dedicated apps |
| Complex analysis | AI ✓ |
Pro Tip
Google now shows AI-generated summaries alongside verified sources. Get both without the dedicated AI call.