Plain-language guide
What is Best of Evidence for AI answers?
Built and reviewed by Imran
Reviewed 26 July 2026
How does it work?
- Separate each candidate answer into its important factual claims.
- Check which claims have direct support and whether the sources are primary and authoritative.
- Rank the candidates by evidence coverage, specificity, and verifiability.
When is it useful?
- Choosing among several sourced research summaries.
- Reviewing an AI answer before it is shared with customers or executives.
- Comparing citation quality independently from prose quality.
Example: three answers, one checkable winner
An answer with a precise claim and two primary sources should generally outrank a fluent answer with no sources. The score makes that preference explicit, but a reviewer should still open the sources and confirm that they support the claim.
What are the limitations?
- A URL count cannot prove that a source actually entails the associated claim.
- This tool adapts Best-of-Evidence research and does not reproduce its partial-verification method.
Common questions
Questions about Best of Evidence
Does more citations mean a better AI answer?
Not necessarily. Citation quality, claim coverage, and whether each source truly supports the claim matter more than raw citation count.
What is a primary source?
A primary source is the original paper, dataset, standard, official documentation, filing, or first-party record behind a factual claim.
Can this tool verify citations automatically?
No. It provides a transparent first-pass score. A human or dedicated verifier should inspect each source and its relationship to the claim.