Hidden AI in Search

A clear answer with references can feel like the research is finished. But finding relevant information is not the same as establishing that it applies to your question. A comparison can make different offers look equivalent and two correct facts can be joined into a conclusion neither source establishes.

This book helps you see what still needs checking. Through familiar situations involving suppliers, bookings and previous customer work, it shows how to use an initial answer to narrow an enquiry without treating it as a confirmed offer or agreement. You will understand when to follow a source, examine its conditions or seek direct confirmation.

• Distinguish finding original material from receiving a new account that selects, combines and interprets it.
• Recognise when a comparison loses an important difference or a relevant passage applies to another product, booking or agreement.
• Check whether a citation supports the particular claim and whether the answer makes an unsupported connection between separate facts.
• Understand what can be searched, what may remain unused and what to consider about your question and answer before submitting or sharing them.

A source link is somewhere to check a claim, not proof that the claim is correct. The linked page may discuss the right subject while describing a different room, product, agreement or version. Checking means examining whether the source supports the particular statement, including the conditions attached to it.

A useful first answer can also become the final answer simply because it is convenient. A supplier comparison may be enough to choose whom to contact, but not enough to place an order. Before making a commitment, establish the details that commitment depends on: the applicable specification, current price, delivery arrangement or direct confirmation. More confident wording cannot supply missing evidence.

Extract from Hidden AI in Search, “What people miss when they just trust AI”.

Russell Parrott is a plain-English writer exploring hidden AI in everyday business tools. He investigates what AI does, what information it draws on and what it can recommend, communicate or change as a result.

He finds where AI is operating inside the tools a business already uses and explains what information it can use and what it recommends, communicate or change as a result. His books turn that research into independent plain-English explanations.