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Things to Check When Using AI to Write Blog Posts: A Twelve-Step Review Workflow for Numbers, Facts, and Links

Shiori
Shiori

Introduction

When using AI to write blog posts, the text may read naturally while the numbers, facts, or links it contains turn out to be inaccurate. Publishing without checking risks putting incorrect information online. This article describes a twelve-step workflow for verifying content before publication.

This is the primary article for executing the review. I keep individual design decisions in separate articles:

Why Review Is Necessary

AI can write inaccurate information in a confident tone. Numbers (“X percent,” “X million people”), link URLs (AI can generate URLs that do not exist), and the details of laws or regulations are elements that carry particular risk if published without verification.

In articles that cite external facts, it is also necessary to confirm that reference numbers in the body correspond to the correct entries in the reference list.

The Twelve-Step Workflow

Step 1: Confirm the article type

Confirm whether the article is a documentation page (Doc) or a blog post (Blog). Review standards differ by type. For documentation, accuracy based on official information and specifications is the top priority. For blog posts, which may include the author’s experience and interpretation, review involves distinguishing between the experience portions and the factual portions.

Step 2: Read the entire article through once from the beginning

Do not edit at this stage. Get a sense of the overall flow of the article and mark any sections that seem to need verification. Doing editing and verification at the same time makes it easy to miss things.

Step 3: Extract claims that need verification

From the body, extract any sections containing “specific numbers,” “statistics,” “descriptions of external service specifications or features,” “contents of laws or regulations,” or “version numbers.” These are claims that require fact-checking.

Step 4: Decide whether citation is needed

Determine whether each extracted claim is “the author’s personal experience or opinion” or “an external fact, statistic, or specification.” If the claim relies on an external fact or statistic as its basis, a reference is required. The author’s experience or opinion does not require citation.

Step 5: Confirm that reference numbers match the body

In articles that contain references, confirm that the [1], [2], and similar numbers in the body correspond to the correct numbers in the reference list at the end of the article. Mismatched numbers prevent readers from tracing the source.

Step 6: Confirm that URLs exist

Open reference URLs in a browser and confirm that the pages actually exist. AI can generate URLs that do not exist. If a URL returns a 404 (page not found), find the correct URL or remove it from the references.

Step 7: Confirm that calculations and the basis for numbers are correct

If the article contains calculations or derived values such as “X minus Y,” confirm that the calculations are correct. Ratios and percentages are particularly important to verify.

Step 8: Fix any problems found

Fix the problems identified in Steps 3 through 7. For information that cannot be verified — a URL that cannot be confirmed, a number whose primary source cannot be found — either remove it from the article or replace it with language such as “there are reports that…” or “I recommend confirming with the primary source.”

Step 9: Run npm run review:content

Run the content automated check script. This mechanically verifies frontmatter format, presence of required fields, slug format, and similar elements. If errors appear, address them before moving to the next step.

Actually click the links in the article (both internal and external links) and confirm that they navigate to the correct pages. Internal links in particular are prone to becoming broken when an article’s slug changes, so they need to be confirmed.

Step 11: Confirm the publication gate

As a final check before publication, confirm the following.

  • The title does not contain imperative or provocative expressions
  • The body does not include unverified claims about the author’s background or achievements
  • No Critical (publication-blocking) review issues remain

Step 12: Publish

Once all steps are complete, publish the article.

Summary

Of the twelve steps, particularly important ones are Step 2 (read through the article once first) and Step 6 (actually open URLs in a browser to confirm them). When using AI to write articles, developing the habit of personally checking external facts, numbers, and links helps maintain the reliability of published articles.

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