Lesson 5 of 6
Always have an escape hatch
6 min read
The chart looks perfect. The total adds up. It's so tidy you're about to send it on — but one of those numbers was never real. How would you know?
It looks right, but check anyway
Everything the assistant builds looks finished and confident — even when a number is a guess or a step is missing. A polished artifact is not a checked one. So before you rely on it, verify it against something real: does the total actually add up, is that figure from your data or invented, does the code do what you asked? Tap 'check it' and read what it flags.
Looking finished isn't the same as being right. Verify the artifact against something independent before you trust it.
Own it — get it out of the chat
The second half of the escape hatch: don't let your work live only inside a chat you might lose. Export it — copy the code into a file, download the chart, save the document. Once it's out, it's yours: it works offline, you can edit it anywhere, and you're not locked to one assistant. Build in the chat, but own it outside.
A chat can be edited, reset, or lost, and the assistant can quietly change an artifact between turns. Anything you actually need — a figure, a file, a decision — verify it and copy it out. Don't let the only copy live in the conversation.
The shape of it
- —A polished artifact can still be wrong — verify it against something real first.
- —Export your work so it's yours: offline, editable, not locked to one chat.
- —Build in the chat, but keep an escape hatch — check it and own it.
The assistant built a budget with a total that looks right, and you need to rely on it for a real decision. What's the safe move?
Continue in the app
Take the whole Build with AI course — tracked
Get your personalized path, progress and streaks in the app — this lesson and every next one, in order.