AI hallucination
An AI hallucination is generated information that sounds credible but is false or has no basis in the available sources. It can concern a fact, a quote, a publication or a product feature; however, a lack of confirmation alone isn’t enough to call a specific statement wrong.
What you need to verify a claim
You need the specific passage from the answer and a current source or fact to compare it with. A suspicion that AI is wrong isn’t enough.
Unconfirmed information isn’t automatically an error. “We don’t know” is a different result from “we have evidence of a contradiction”.
What to do when you find a mismatch
Check that your own data is current and where AI might have got the information. Sometimes the problem is an old description of your offer on your own website, sometimes an external publication.
After fixing the source, watch the following answers. Updating a description doesn’t mean every AI service will update its answer straight away.
Why not every mismatch has the same cause
A wrong answer can come from an invented fact, two companies being confused or an old publication being used. Without looking at the source, the mechanism can’t always be determined. That’s why Heuriso reports use the term “information mismatch” for a verifiable contradiction with a fact about your brand. It describes the problem observed, without attributing intent or a definite cause to the model.
For customers, the consequences can be practical: not getting in touch, choosing the wrong plan or expecting a service your company doesn’t offer. Check the information that affects buying decisions first. Keep the question, the date, the name of the AI service and the exact quote. Then compare the claim with your current pricing, documentation or a confirmed fact in your company profile.
Common mistake: asking the model to confirm its own answer
Asking “are you sure?” may make the model change its answer, but it isn’t independent verification. The model can retract true information just as easily as it can repeat a false one. Check the actual source, and if there isn’t one, mark the result as unverified. Fluent language, detailed descriptions and seemingly precise quotes are not evidence.
Example
AI says a company doesn’t serve individual customers, even though its current offer clearly includes them. That is a verifiable mismatch. The sentence “the offer isn’t very attractive”, on the other hand, is an opinion.
Key takeaway
Separate facts from opinions and errors from missing data. Keep the quote and the basis for your judgment.