GovFacts articles are researched, written and checked by the GovFacts Engine, an AI system. People decide which topics it takes on and set the standards it follows. No person writes an article or reads each one before it is published. We say this plainly because you deserve to know how the information you are reading was made.
What the AI Does
The Engine researches each topic, writes only from passages in the sources it retrieves, and has independent AI readers check the result before anything is published. How Articles Are Made describes each step.
We regularly test and evolve our approach, using frontier AI models. We currently favor OpenAI’s models.
What People Do
- Set the standards, sourcing rules and priorities the Engine follows.
- Decide which topics are queued.
- Build, test and change the Engine.
- Read reader reports and act on them.
- Spot-check published articles against their sources, though not on a fixed schedule.
Safeguards
- An article’s factual claims are checked against their sources before it is published.
- An article that does not pass its checks is not published.
- Articles built by the Engine show their sources, and in the current version each factual statement links to the source it came from.
- Articles built by the Engine show when they were last checked and when the next check is due.
These safeguards apply to articles built by the Engine. Older articles are being rebuilt to the same standard.
Images
Illustrations at the top of articles are AI-generated conceptual images. They are not photographs of real people or events.
Limits
AI makes mistakes, and so do we. For any decision that affects you directly, confirm the details with the official government source. GovFacts is a starting point, not a substitute for official sources or professional advice.