# Verify an answer

> How to check an Oyster answer before you act on it — citations, identifiers, follow-up questions and confidence signals.

Source: https://documentation.redorca.ai/guides/verify-an-answer/
Last updated: 2026-11-01

Oyster is a fast first pass, not the final word. Answers come from a language model and can be wrong, so check anything you will act on.

## Four checks

1. **Open a citation.** Where an answer lists sources, open at least one. Does the passage actually support the claim?
2. **Check identifiers against the source.** For a CVE or a version claim, confirm the identifier and the affected range in the cited advisory.
3. **Ask for the source.** "What is your source for that?" or "Show the exact text you used." If an answer states a specific fact with no citation, ask.
4. **Reproduce before you rely on it.** Confirm in a lab you are allowed to use, or against the authoritative documentation.

## Read the confidence signals

In Security Intelligence and other grounded answers:

- **Grounded** — the answer is backed by retrieved sources.
- **Partial** or **none** — treat it with more caution.
- A **data-gap warning** means Oyster is missing information. It is being honest, not unhelpful.
- **Insufficient evidence** means nothing relevant was found. Add a document, rephrase, or accept that the material does not cover it.

## Teach it

Rate answers with 👍 / 👎. A thumbs-down with a correction tells Oyster what the answer should have been, and the correction is recalled on your next message.

See also [Evidence and citations](https://documentation.redorca.ai/understand/evidence-and-citations/).