What to Check Before Sending an AI-Drafted Quote

Read the whole quote slowly, as the customer would, before it leaves your hands. A tool can make a draft sound finished when it isn't.

Why the mistakes happen

Chatbots can put false statements into their text, including fabricated citations.¹ The falsehoods are "plausible-sounding".¹

That's the problem. A wrong line reads just as smoothly as a right one, so you can't spot errors by how the text feels.

Results also vary from run to run and from version to version. OpenAI's guidance says even different versions of a model within one family could give different results.² The same prompt can give you a slightly different quote next month.

Mistakes to look for

• Invented work. A task or inclusion you never discussed, added because it fits the pattern of a typical job.
• Dropped work. A task in your notes that quietly vanished.
• Changed quantities. "Two" becoming "all", or a room swapped for another.
• Made-up facts. Statements about standards, certificates, permits or timeframes. Treat any such claim as unchecked until you've confirmed it with the official source.
• Invented prices or totals. A tool can get sums wrong, so re-add every figure yourself.
• Wrong names. Customer name, site address, your own business details.
• Promises. Words like "guarantee" or "always" that you wouldn't say out loud.
• Tone drift. Too stiff, too chatty, or not like you.

The by-hand checks

• Put your original site notes beside the draft and tick off each task.
• Read the scope section. Scope wording lists the questions to ask. Unclear scope is where trouble starts, because "scope or requirement creep may ensue".³
• Recalculate every price and total on paper or a calculator.
• Check the customer's name, address and contact details against your records.
• Check dates, validity periods and payment terms are the ones you intend.
• Delete anything you can't back up.

Things to take from the official source, not a tool

Rules on licensing, safety, testing, certificates, tax and consumer law differ by country and sometimes by state. A tool may state them confidently and get them wrong. Use your regulator's own pages. In Australia that's the ATO or Fair Work. In the UK it's the ICO or HMRC, and in the US the FTC or IRS. This site doesn't give legal, tax or electrical advice, and a tool shouldn't be your source for it either.

Privacy

Check what you pasted into the tool as well as what came out. Australia's regulator advises against using an AI product just because it exists.⁴ That's Australian guidance, so look at your own regulator if you're elsewhere. Read the maker's privacy page for the tool you use, and keep customer names and addresses out of prompts where you can.

Keep a copy

Save the final version you actually sent, along with your notes. If a question comes up later, you'll know exactly which words the customer saw.

Make it a habit

A short checklist beats good intentions. Print the list above, tape it somewhere you'll see it, and run it every time, including the quick jobs. Errors tend to get through on the days you're in a hurry. If the quote changes later, wording a variation covers how to do it in writing.