Run Chain-of-Verification before final output — procedure

Step-by-step guide for running Chain-of-Verification inside a selected evidence boundary before accepting a final answer.

Purpose

This guide explains how to check an AI answer before using it. The workflow first creates a draft answer, then turns important factual claims into specific checking questions, answers those questions separately, and uses the results to produce a corrected final answer.

When to use this

Use this section to decide whether this workflow is the right fit before you configure prompts, policies, or reference material.

Use this when
The answer includes facts that need checking
Use this when the response contains factual statements and you do not want to rely on the first answer alone.
Use this when
The answer will be shared or reused
Use this before publishing, sending, quoting, documenting, or using an AI answer as input for another task.
Use this when
You need a visible checking step
Use this when the workflow should show that the answer was checked before the final version was produced.
Use this when
The first answer may be incomplete or wrong
Use this when the model may have produced a plausible answer that still needs correction, removal of weak claims, or clearer wording.

Implementation procedure

Step-by-step implementation procedure

Follow the workflow in order. Each step gives one action and one verification check before continuing.

  1. Write the first answer

    Start by creating an initial answer to the user’s question.

    Action
    Treat this answer as a draft. Do not publish it, send it, or treat it as final yet.
    Verify
    There is a clear draft answer that can be checked.

  2. Find the claims that need checking

    Review the draft and identify the factual statements that matter.

    Action
    Select claims that affect the accuracy of the answer, such as names, dates, definitions, technical behavior, product behavior, research findings, or cause-and-effect statements.
    Verify
    The important factual claims are visible and specific enough to check.

  3. Turn each claim into a checking question

    Convert the selected claims into direct questions.

    Action
    For each important claim, write a question that can confirm whether the claim is correct, incomplete, unsupported, or wrong.
    Verify
    Each checking question maps back to a specific claim in the draft.

  4. Answer the checking questions separately

    Check the questions without using the draft as proof for itself.

    Action
    Answer each checking question independently, using the material available for the task.
    Verify
    The checking answers are separate from the original draft and can be used to judge it.

  5. Compare the draft with the checking answers

    Use the checking answers to decide what should stay, change, or be removed.

    Action
    Mark each important claim as supported, incorrect, incomplete, unclear, or not supported by the check.
    Verify
    Every important claim has a clear result before the final answer is written.

  6. Rewrite the final answer

    Create the final response only after the checking pass is complete.

    Action
    Keep supported information, correct wrong information, remove unsupported claims, and make uncertainty clear where needed.
    Verify
    The final answer no longer repeats claims that failed the checking step.

Verification checklist

Use this checklist before accepting the output, publishing it, or using it as evidence for a downstream workflow.

Draft
The first answer was treated as a draft
The workflow did not accept the first generated answer as final.
Claims
Important factual claims were identified
The workflow checked the claims that affect the accuracy of the response.
Questions
The checking questions were specific
Each checking question was tied to a concrete claim from the draft.
Independent check
The check did not use the draft as proof
The verification step checked the claims separately instead of repeating the draft.
Revision
The final answer was changed when needed
Unsupported, incorrect, incomplete, or unclear claims were corrected, removed, or qualified.
Final answer
Only the corrected answer is treated as final
The workflow keeps the draft and checking work separate from the final response.

Next step