How triff works

triff is your research assistant. It reads your content, finds the factual claims that can be checked, locates the best primary sources available, compares them, and shows you what it found.

You stay in control. triff never changes your document. It only adds comments or creates findings in the web interface.

1. You trigger a verification

You can start a verification in two ways:

Google Docs

Leave a comment that says @triff verify (or @triff verify all). triff reads the document (or the selected passage) and begins analysis.

Web Interface

Upload a document or enter text directly in the triff web dashboard at primarysource.ai/app. This is useful for content that isn't in Google Docs or for bulk verification.

2. triff does the research

For each important factual claim, triff:

  • Identifies what exactly is being claimed
  • Finds the most authoritative primary source available (government data, regulatory filings, official records, established data aggregators like AAA)
  • Retrieves the relevant data from that source
  • Compares the claim to what the source actually records

This process is deterministic where the sources are available. The same content will produce consistent results when the same sources are found.

3. You get clear findings

triff returns one of five possible findings for each claim it examines:

  • /Verified — The primary source matches what your content says
  • \Delta — The primary source shows a different figure
  • ~Conflicting — Authoritative sources disagree with each other
  • ?Under-specified — Sources are clear, but the claim is too loose for one fair comparison
  • -Unverified — We could not complete a primary source comparison (the data wasn't available, the claim type isn't verifiable, etc.)

These are not judgments about whether you were right or wrong. They are observations about the relationship between your content and what the primary sources record.

4. The triff string

At the end of every run, you'll see a compact summary called the triff string.

Example: ////\\~~??-

This always follows the same order:

  • /= Verified (green)
  • \= Delta (orange)
  • ~= Conflicting (blue)
  • ?= Under-specified (purple)
  • -= Unverified (grey)

////\\~~??- means 4 verified, 2 delta, 2 conflicting, 2 under-specified, and 1 unverified.

The shape of the string tells you something important at a glance.

5. You decide what to do

This is the most important part.

triff does not tell you what to write. It does not correct your work. It does not grade your article.

It simply shows you what the primary sources say — clearly, with full references — so you can decide what to do with that information.

You might:

  • Update a number
  • Add context or a citation
  • Strengthen a claim
  • Leave it as-is because you have more current information
  • Investigate further

The judgment is always yours.

6. Agentic & API workflows (coming soon)

triff can also run as part of automated pipelines — verifying content generated by AI systems, flagging claims before publication, or integrating into existing editorial workflows.

If your system produces content, triff can ground it.

This capability is in development and will be available soon.

What makes triff different

Most AI tools try to give you an answer. triff tries to give you visibility.

It is designed to know what it knows — and to clearly tell you when it doesn't. An “Unverified” or “Conflicting” result is not a failure. It is useful information.

This combination — primary sources as ground truth, constrained AI reasoning where used, full transparency, and honest admission of limitations — is what sets triff apart.

Ready to try it? Request an invitation →