What is an AI hallucination?
AI term of the day: hallucination.
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The guide in text
Hallucination: When an AI states something false or unsupported as if it were fact. It sounds just as confident as the true parts.
"The cake will be completely nut-free."
The bakery's first AI draft said it. The kitchen also bakes with nuts. A promise check flagged the line before it was sent.
Judge a claim by its facts, not its tone
- Number your facts before you ask for a draft.
- Ask for a table: every promise and the fact behind it.
- Fix anything with no fact behind it, then read it once more yourself.
The full definition: What is an AI hallucination? in the AI glossary, with an example from a free lesson, common confusions and tips.
Businesses and people in the examples are made up. The steps, screens and wording come from the free lesson and the Stepthrough glossary and prompt library.
Do it yourself, free
Reply Faster: Turn a Messy Customer Email Thread into a Clear, Friendly Reply. Turn a messy customer email thread into a clear, friendly reply: give ChatGPT the thread and your facts, check every promise, fix the tone, and send it from Gmail. You do every step yourself in a practice copy of ChatGPT, it checks your work as you go, and “Do it for me” finishes any step you get stuck on. Free, and nothing touches your real accounts.
Start the free lessonRelated terms
Plain-English definitions, each with an example from a free lesson.
Related prompts
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- Email shortener prompt: Cut a long email down to what the reader needs without changing a fact, date, price or promise, plus a list of what was removed…
- Payment received thank-you prompt: Confirm a payment and say thanks in a few lines: the amount, what it was for, the balance now owed, and what happens next…
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More visual guides
Don't tell ChatGPT to make it better. Say this instead.A customer's cake order went sideways. Wrong pickup day, a flavor change, and a nut allergy question nobody answered.
Mistake to avoid One graphic
5 Steps to Turn a Messy Email Thread into a Clear ReplyA visual guide: paste a customer thread with numbered facts, check every promise in ChatGPT's draft, fix it and send it from Gmail.
Step-by-step guide 7 slides
Mistake to Avoid: A Soft Yes When You Mean NoA visual tip for customer emails: AI drafts blur a no into "we'll do our best." Say no early, give one reason and a real alternative.
Mistake to avoid One graphic