How to review an AI-generated article before publishing

By Luis Rita · 29 September 2026

An AI draft is a first draft. Reviewing it well is quicker than writing from scratch, but only if you review in a fixed order, so the checks that can sink the article come first and cosmetic edits come last.

This checklist takes about 15 to 30 minutes for a 1,200-word post.

Pass 1: Warnings and provenance (2 minutes)

Before you read the article, read what your tooling already flagged. In AI Blog Writer with Sources that is the Warnings panel in the editor sidebar: sources that failed or were deselected, time-sensitive facts with retrieval dates, and claims the brief asked for that no source supported.

Note which model wrote the draft and when. If the sources were fetched weeks ago, prices and schedules may have changed.

Pass 2: Facts against sources (10 to 15 minutes)

This is the pass that matters most. For each sentence containing a number, date, price, name, quote, rule or comparison:

1. Does it have a citation?
2. Open the source. Does it say this, in this context?
3. Is the source current enough for this claim?

Remove or rewrite any claim that fails. Don’t add your own facts without a source unless you are the source. Our claim verification guide covers the tricky cases.

Pay particular attention to:

• Superlatives: “the only”, “the fastest”, “the cheapest”
• Absolutes: “always”, “never”, “guaranteed”
• Merged claims: two true facts from different sources joined into a false one
• Health, money, legal and safety advice, which should be conservative and properly attributed

Pass 3: Structure and intent (5 minutes)

Read only the headings. Do they answer the question the reader searched for, in the order they need the answers? Move the most useful section up. Cut sections that restate earlier ones. AI drafts often end with a generic conclusion, so replace it with a concrete next step or delete it.

Pass 4: Voice and specificity (5 minutes)

Delete the filler that marks AI text: “in today’s fast-paced world”, “it’s important to note”, “delve”, “a testament to”. Replace vague adjectives with specifics from your sources. If a real person signs the article, it should sound like them. A writer profile with a list of words to avoid prevents most of this from the start.

Pass 5: Metadata, links and media (3 minutes)

• Meta title and description: accurate and specific, with no promises the article doesn’t keep
• Focus phrase: appears naturally in the title, the introduction and one heading
• Internal links: two or three to related pages on your site
• Citation links: they work and point to the exact page, not a homepage
• Images: alt text that describes the image, not keywords

Pass 6: Disclosure and sign-off

Decide how you disclose AI assistance. Many publishers add a short line such as “Drafted with AI assistance from cited sources and reviewed by [editor]”. What matters is being consistent and honest. Then have the named author or editor sign off.

Make it a habit

Copy this checklist into your editorial workflow or a reusable WordPress block pattern. The first review takes the longest. After ten articles you’ll know where your drafts usually go wrong, and you can fix that upstream in the brief, the sources or the writer profile.