Lesson 2 / 6 · 6 min read
Same question, different answer
In short
An AI tool writes each answer afresh, so the same question can get different answers on different days. That's harmless for drafting a message or letter. But where a rate, a tax, a date or a promise to a customer is involved, a person must check the AI's answer.
If you asked your accountant “how much tax applies to this bill?” and asked again the next day, you would expect the same answer.
With AI, that isn’t guaranteed.
Why it happens
An AI tool writes its reply word by word, fresh each time. A little randomness is built in on purpose so the text doesn’t sound mechanical. The result: the same question sometimes gets different wording, and sometimes a different substance too. A rate, a date, or a “yes” that becomes a “no”.
When it matters, and when it doesn’t
| What you use AI for | Does a different answer matter? |
|---|---|
| A draft letter or message you’ll read before sending | Not much |
| A summary of a long document, for yourself | A little; check the key points |
| A rate, delivery date or promise to a customer | Yes, a lot |
| Tax, GST, legal or money decisions | Very much; a person must check |
A simple rule: if work or money depends on the answer, don’t leave it to AI alone.
An example (illustrative)
The accountant at a steel-fabrication unit in Sahibabad asks an AI tool for the GST rate on a particular item. The first answer gives one rate. The next day, in a new chat, the same question gets a different rate.
Had the first answer gone onto an invoice unchecked, it could have meant corrections, a notice or an argument with the customer. The right approach was to confirm the AI’s answer on the GST portal or with the CA.
A 10-minute check
Any business owner can run this, with no technical knowledge:
- Choose an important question from your work.
- Ask it 5 to 10 times, each time in a new chat, with exactly the same words.
- In each answer, look only at what matters: numbers, dates, yes or no.
- Count how often that part changed.
If it changed even once, don’t use the AI’s answer directly for that task. Treat it as a draft, not a decision.
The examples in this lesson are illustrative, based on the kind of businesses found in industrial clusters like Sahibabad. They will be replaced with real, anonymised examples from Svadrishti's field diagnostics.
Try this week
Pick one important question from your work, such as 'how much GST applies to this item?'. Ask an AI tool five times, opening a new chat each time and using exactly the same words. Check whether the part that matters (the rate, the percentage, the yes or no) stayed the same.
Common questions
Does AI lie?
Not deliberately. It builds answers by choosing the most likely next word, so it can state something wrong with great confidence. That is why important answers need checking.
So should we never trust AI?
Trust it according to the task. For drafts, summaries and ideas it is excellent. Where something reaches a customer or involves money, a person should make the final call.
Where do we get reliable tax and GST answers?
From the official GST portal or your CA or tax adviser. Treat an AI answer as a first guess only.