# Fix wrong answers from your own documents

> Researched. Small business · Intermediate · Operations. Updated 2026-11-02.

Canonical page: https://www.aisetupsthatwork.com/setups/fix-wrong-answers-from-your-own-documents/

## What it does
Find out why your AI gives the wrong policy even though the right document is in its files, fix the files and instructions, and re-test with known answers.

## Who it's for
Owners using a Claude or ChatGPT project, or a support bot, that answers from their own documents and sometimes gets a policy or price wrong.

## Tools
- Your Claude or ChatGPT project
- The files it uses
- 5 questions you already know the answers to

## Steps
1. Ask the wrong question again and require it to quote the exact file and passage it used.
2. If it quotes an old or different file, delete or rename the outdated one. Two price lists in one project is the most common cause.
3. Anthropic says Claude switches to a retrieval mode when project knowledge gets large, so it pulls the passages that look most relevant. Put your key rules (refunds, prices, service area) in one short cheat sheet at the top.
4. Add the instruction from the prompt below so it quotes its source and says when files disagree.
5. Re-test with your 5 known questions, including the one it got wrong.
6. Only consider a different model after the files and instructions are clean.

## Copy-paste prompt
Adapt bracketed fields to your situation.
```text
Add to the project instructions:

When you answer:
1. Quote the exact sentence you used and name its file.
2. If two files disagree, show both quotes, say which file is newer, and do not pick one silently.
3. If no file answers the question, say: Not in our documents.
4. For prices, refunds and deadlines, use the cheat sheet file first.

Now answer this test question using those rules: [THE QUESTION IT GOT WRONG]
```

## Guardrails
- What it touches: Chat input you provide (Your Claude or ChatGPT project; The files it uses).
- Needs your OK: Send, pay, publish, and account changes stay with you. Treat agent output as drafts first.
- Safety level: Read-only
- Swapping models when the real problem is an outdated file.
- Burying the refund rule on page 30 of a manual.
- Fixing the answer in one chat instead of in the project files.

## Tips
- Date your file names so old versions are easy to spot.
- Short cheat sheets beat long manuals for rules that must be exact.
- Keep your 5 test questions and re-run them after every file change.

## Estimates (labeled, not measured)
- Time saved: About 30 minutes to diagnose and fix.
- Money saved: Not stated in sources.
- Tool cost: Projects availability varies by plan. Prices: Not stated in sources.

## Sources
Summaries use the public sources below, not independent verification.
- Anthropic: https://support.claude.com/en/articles/9517075-what-are-projects (What are projects: project knowledge and instructions; RAG mode when project knowledge approaches context limits (read 2026-11-02 from a search result excerpt of the page))
- OpenAI: https://help.openai.com/en/articles/10169521-projects-in-chatgpt (Projects in ChatGPT: chats, files and instructions kept together (read 2026-11-02 from a search result excerpt of the page))

## Get the free starter pack
Five beginner copy-paste AI setups, free by email: https://www.aisetupsthatwork.com/starter-pack/?utm_source=ai-agent&utm_medium=markdown&utm_campaign=setup-fix-wrong-answers-from-your-own-documents

Related:
- [Build a knowledge base your AI answers from](https://www.aisetupsthatwork.com/setups/build-a-business-knowledge-base-your-ai-answers-from/index.md)
- [Ask your job files questions with NotebookLM](https://www.aisetupsthatwork.com/setups/ask-your-job-files-questions-with-notebooklm/index.md)