Unit 2: Stop it inventing · Lesson 4 of 4 · about 5 min

Check which sources were actually searched

You asked what people said about a topic in the last 30 days across 8 sources. You want complaints and workarounds with links, and you need to know which sources were not actually checked.

You're practising: Making the AI name the sources it could not check instead of implying full coverage.

The mistake to catch: AI fills gaps with confident guesses: an answer only you know, "done" for unfinished work, one number when sources disagree.

← Your learning path

1. Open the prompt

Open Research the last 30 days of chatterand copy its prompt into your AI. Any AI works.

2. Give it this sample data

Topic: Grok Bot scheduled routines: do they run reliably, and what do they cost in usage?
Check these sources: Reddit, X, YouTube, TikTok, Hacker News, Polymarket, GitHub, and the web.
Note: right now your AI can reach X and the open web only.
Window: the last 30 days. Right now: Oct 30, 2026.

Your task: Ask your AI for a brief with 3 sections: repeated complaints with a source link each, workarounds people shared with a source link each, and questions the sources did not answer. Any source it could not check must be named.

3. Paste your AI's answer

Checked in your browser with plain rules. Your answer isn't sent or stored anywhere.

+20 XP · 1-day streak

Passed. Here's one answer that also passes, to compare

Repeated complaints
- Routines were held back or marked Failed twice this month, and missed runs were not replayed. (https://x.com/i/status/2111522091316990308)
- Frequent routines burn the weekly allowance on runs that find nothing. (https://x.com/i/status/2115428858581365203)

Workarounds shared
- Leave routines on during an incident and run missed ones by hand. (https://x.com/i/status/2112961302767493490)
- Give bots office hours so check-ins come in batches. (https://x.com/i/status/2115884875844624558)

Questions the sources did not answer
- What an idle routine run costs.
- Whether failed runs count against the allowance.

Not checked: Reddit, YouTube, TikTok, Hacker News, Polymarket, GitHub.

Next: Pull vendor bills into one table

Ready to use it for real? Set up Research the last 30 days of chatter.

Challenge a coworker: can their AI pass it too?

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Check which sources were actually searched

1. Open the prompt

2. Give it this sample data

3. Paste your AI's answer

Passed. Here's one answer that also passes, to compare

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