The AI Readiness App course · Beginner · about 60 minutes · Free

AI for research and finding information

Find, summarise and compare information faster with AI, and check every source before you rely on it.

For: Anyone who searches for information, reads long documents or prepares briefings as part of their job.

1. Lesson 1

   Ask research questions well

   Get focused answers instead of vague overviews.

   1. Say what you need the answer for and who will read it.
   2. Ask for the answer, how sure the assistant is, and what would change the answer.
   3. Use a tool with web search when the answer depends on recent facts, and ask for links.
   4. Open and read the sources yourself.

   Try this at work: Pick a question from your work this week. Ask an assistant with web search for a short answer with a link for every claim, then open each link and confirm it says what the answer claims.

   How to check it: Every claim you keep is supported by a source you opened. Links that do not support the claim are discarded.

   Watch out: Assistants sometimes cite sources that do not say what they claim, or that do not exist. Never pass on a link you have not opened.

2. Lesson 2

   Summarise long documents

   Get the key points from a long report or policy in minutes.

   1. Upload or paste the document, if your workplace allows it.
   2. Ask for the main points, decisions and open questions, each with the section or page it came from.
   3. Ask what the document does not cover that you might expect.

   Try this at work: Take a long document you need to understand. Ask for the ten key points with page or section references, then spot-check three of them against the original.

   How to check it: The points you spot-checked match the original wording and meaning.

   Watch out: Summaries can miss exceptions and footnotes. Read the original for anything you will act on.

3. Lesson 3

   Compare options side by side

   Turn several sources into a fair comparison table.

   1. Give the assistant the material on each option.
   2. Name the criteria that matter to you before asking for the comparison.
   3. Ask for a table with one row per option and a note of where each fact came from.
   4. Fill gaps yourself rather than letting the assistant guess.

   Try this at work: Compare three suppliers, tools or approaches you are considering. Give the assistant their public pages or your notes, list your criteria, and ask for a table with sources.

   How to check it: Every cell is backed by a source; empty cells are left empty, not guessed.

   Watch out: Prices and features change often; check them on the provider's own page on the day you decide.

4. Lesson 4

   Keep a research trail

   Make your findings easy for others to check.

   1. Save the question, the date, the sources and what you concluded.
   2. Separate what the sources say from your own judgment.
   3. Note the confidence level of each conclusion.

   Try this at work: Write a half-page briefing from your research with two sections, 'What the sources say' and 'What I conclude', with links in the first.

   How to check it: A colleague can follow every link and reach the same facts.

   Watch out: Do not present an AI summary as your own reading of a source you have not opened.

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