How Do IR Teams Keep a Quarterly AI Answer Audit Record?
A quarterly AI answer audit record is an evidence file that connects Investor Answer Audit captures from ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Google AI Mode, and Microsoft Copilot to SEC EDGAR filings. Investor Relations uses the record to preserve each answer, citation, filing check, finding, owner, action, and re-check.
An Investor Answer Audit checks what AI engines tell investors against the company’s 8-K, 10-Q, or 10-K. The record gives the CFO office, legal team, and audit committee dated evidence for review.
The short version:
- Create a dated record for each tested investor topic.
- Capture answers and visible source links without editing them.
- Check each factual claim against the relevant SEC filing.
- Assign a clear finding, owner, and action.
- Preserve every later re-check as new evidence.
- Give the board a short summary led by the largest gap.
What should a quarterly AI answer audit record contain?
A quarterly AI answer audit record should connect each captured answer to exact evidence. It should preserve both what the engine displayed and how the company checked it.
Use these fields for every capture:
| Field | What to record |
|---|---|
| Test | Internal test ID and investor topic |
| Engine | ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Google AI Mode, or Microsoft Copilot |
| Capture | Date, time, time zone, region, account state, and device type |
| Answer | Complete displayed answer without edits |
| Sources | Every visible citation URL in the displayed order |
| Filing evidence | Form, filing date, accession number, section, and exact quote |
| Finding | Match, partial, wrong, missing, or not verifiable |
| Action | Proposed correction path and responsible owner |
| Re-check | Planned date, capture conditions, and later result |
A stable test ID should link the first capture, action, and re-check. The team should never overwrite earlier evidence with a later result.
A screenshot can preserve the visible layout. The record should also contain searchable answer text, source URLs, and filing evidence.
Why should the record include an SEC accession number?
An SEC EDGAR filing check should include the accession number for the document used as evidence. The number helps another reviewer retrieve the same filing instead of relying on a local file name.
The record should also include the form type and filing date. For an exhibit, record its name and the section containing the evidence. Save the filing URL from SEC EDGAR.
The audit methodology shows how MS House records an answer, isolates its factual claims, and ties each finding to exact filing text.
Which investor questions should the company test?
The company should test topics that investors are likely to ask after a release or major event. The set should reflect the company, its sector, and its current disclosures.
Do not depend on one fixed question list. Stable facts may remain relevant, while guidance, strategy, reporting, and event topics can change each quarter.
Which stable disclosure topics belong in the record?
Stable disclosure topics cover facts that investors may ask about across several quarters. The company should still review these topics when a filing changes the supporting evidence.
| Topic group | What it covers | Primary owner |
|---|---|---|
| Reported results | Revenue, earnings measures, and period comparisons | CFO office |
| Business structure | Segments, products, geography, and reporting changes | Finance |
| Leadership | Current executive roles and disclosed changes | Corporate Communications |
| Company description | Business model, customers, and principal activities | Investor Relations |
Each stable topic needs a recorded reason for inclusion and an expected filing source.
Which changing topics require a quarterly review?
Changing topics should reflect the latest guidance, capital decisions, risks, and major company events. These topics may enter or leave the set when the company’s disclosures change.
| Topic group | What it covers | Primary owner |
|---|---|---|
| Guidance | Current outlook, ranges, changes, and stated assumptions | Investor Relations |
| Capital allocation | Dividends, repurchases, debt, and investment plans | Treasury or CFO office |
| Major events | Acquisitions, divestitures, restructuring, and investor day topics | Event owner |
| Risk disclosures | Material risks described in company filings | Legal |
The team should identify the filing expected to answer each topic. This step makes the evidence check easier to repeat and review.
How should the question set change after a major event?
The question set should add topics created by the event while retaining relevant stable facts. An acquisition, guidance change, or reporting reorganization may require new topics.
Record why each new topic entered the set. Also record why the team retired a topic. This history helps the audit committee separate a changed test from a changed answer.
The investor relations AI search checklist helps IR teams move from event selection to answer capture, filing review, ownership, and re-check planning.
How should the team capture answers and citations from each engine?
The team should capture the complete answer and every visible source during the same session. It should also record the test conditions.
Use one documented setup across engines where possible. Record whether the session was signed in, signed out, private, or personalized. Do not treat captures as directly comparable when the test conditions differ.
For each capture:
- Record the exact date, time, and time zone.
- Record the country or region used for the test.
- Save the displayed answer as text.
- Save a screenshot or PDF that shows the answer and citations.
- Copy every visible citation URL.
- Record the citation order and source type.
- Note any warning, missing answer, or follow-up prompt.
- Preserve another run as a separate capture, not a replacement.
The audit record should separate displayed evidence from the team’s assessment. This distinction keeps observation, filing evidence, and judgment clear.
Which official sources should define the capture method?
Official documentation should support how the team records search answers, links, citations, and product context. Use the ChatGPT search documentation, Google Search Central guidance, and Microsoft Support documentation.
Use SEC EDGAR and the company’s official IR site for financial ground truth. Engine documentation explains the displayed search features. It does not replace the filing evidence needed to check a factual claim.
How should ChatGPT answers and citations be captured?
ChatGPT citations for investor relations should be saved with the full answer, visible source links, and session conditions. A cited page does not support every sentence unless the evidence confirms that connection.
OpenAI’s ChatGPT search documentation describes search answers that include source links. The documentation does not promise that a specific page will appear or that changed information will appear by a set date.
Record which statements each visible citation appears to support. Mark statements without visible support for a separate filing check.
Last checked: 2026-10-31.
How should Google AI Overviews and Google AI Mode be captured?
Google AI Overviews sources should be recorded with the displayed answer, linked pages, query context, and test conditions. Capture Google AI Overviews and Google AI Mode as separate surfaces.
Google Search Central explains how Google’s AI features can show supporting links. The guidance does not guarantee inclusion, placement, or update timing for a specific page.
Record when an AI Overview does not appear. Treat the absence as an observation for that query and capture, not as a factual error.
Last checked: 2026-10-31.
How should Microsoft Copilot citations be captured?
Microsoft Copilot citations should be saved with the complete answer, citation markers, linked pages, and product context. The record should identify the Copilot experience that the team tested.
Microsoft Support documents web search in Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat and agents. Record the product context so another reviewer can understand the capture conditions.
Do not merge citations from separate runs. Save each run under its own timestamp and test ID.
Last checked: 2026-10-31.
How should each answer be checked against an 8-K, 10-Q, or 10-K?
Each answer should be checked claim by claim against the company’s SEC filings and official IR materials. The reviewer should quote the exact filing text used for each finding.
Use this process:
- Separate the answer into factual claims.
- Identify the filing that covers each claim.
- Copy the supporting or conflicting filing text.
- Record the form, filing date, accession number, section, and URL.
- Compare periods, units, definitions, and qualifiers.
- Assign a finding to each claim.
- Explain each difference in one short sentence.
One answer can contain both supported and unsupported claims. Do not mark the whole answer as correct because one statement matches the filing.
When should the team use an 8-K?
Use an 8-K when the form or its exhibits contain the relevant disclosed results or company event. SEC Form 8-K identifies Item 2.02 as “Results of Operations and Financial Condition.”
An earnings release may appear as an exhibit to the filing. Record the exhibit and exact passage instead of citing only the 8-K cover page.
Another 8-K item may contain the evidence for a different event. Select the section that supports or conflicts with the claim being reviewed.
Last checked: 2026-10-31.
When should the team use a 10-Q or 10-K?
Use the filing that contains the evidence for the claim. SEC Form 10-Q covers quarterly reports, while SEC Form 10-K covers annual reports.
A question about a prior period may require the filing for that period. A question about a changed segment may require both the earlier and later disclosures.
Record every document used. Do not combine statements from several filings without showing which statement came from each document.
Last checked: 2026-10-31.
How should the team classify each finding?
The team should use findings that describe the evidence gap. Avoid a single score that hides why an answer failed.
Use these definitions:
- Match: The answer agrees with the filing, including period, units, and qualifiers.
- Partial: Part of the answer matches, but important filing context is absent.
- Wrong: A factual claim conflicts with the filing.
- Missing: The answer omits a requested fact that the filing provides.
- Not verifiable: The available filing does not support a firm conclusion.
A rounding difference is not automatically wrong. Record the displayed value, filing value, units, and stated rounding before assigning the finding.
How should the team record corrections and later re-checks?
The team should preserve the original capture and add every re-check as a new record. Never replace an earlier answer with a later result.
A correction record should include:
- The original test ID.
- The finding that prompted action.
- The displayed source or company page that needs review.
- The assigned owner.
- The approved action.
- The action date.
- The re-check date and test conditions.
- The new answer and visible citations.
- The new filing check and finding.
The record should state whether the displayed answer changed. It should not claim that a company action caused the change unless evidence supports that conclusion.
When should the team schedule a re-check?
The team should choose a re-check date based on the importance of the finding and its internal disclosure process. No engine guarantees when changed information will appear in an answer.
Record the planned interval and the reason for it. Keep the setup as close as possible to the original capture, and document any difference.
The MS House Annual Program includes a 14 day re-check after each fix. The pricing page explains the Quarterly Audit and Annual Program.
What should the board summary show?
The board summary should show the most important evidence gaps, filing support, owners, and next actions. It should lead with the largest wrong or outdated answer instead of a broad visibility score.
Show these details first:
- The largest wrong or outdated answer.
- The engine and capture date.
- The exact answer excerpt.
- The exact filing quote.
- The source shown with the answer.
- The finding and its reason.
- The owner and next action.
- The re-check status.
A short table can then summarize findings by topic and engine. Keep complete captures, filing excerpts, and source records in an appendix or linked evidence file.
The summary should also state the audit scope and limits. List the tested engines, covered topics, capture dates, and any material method changes.
The sample audit shows how evidence, filing support, ownership, and fixes can appear in one report.
How should the board see changes across quarters?
The board should see whether each important finding is new, repeated, fixed, or no longer testable. These labels are clearer than an unexplained composite score.
Keep stable topics comparable when they remain relevant. Mark changed questions, filing periods, engines, and methods so the comparison remains accurate.
A repeated finding should retain links to each earlier capture and action. Do not claim legal, market, or investor harm without public evidence.
Who should own the audit record?
Investor Relations should coordinate the audit record because the work covers investor questions and public company information. Finance, legal, and communications should review evidence within their areas.
A practical ownership model is:
- Investor Relations manages topics, captures, and the board summary.
- The CFO office verifies financial measures and guidance.
- Legal reviews filing references and disclosure concerns.
- Corporate Communications checks leadership and company descriptions.
- IR web owners handle approved page changes.
- Each action has one responsible role.
The company should define approval rights before the first capture. Access should follow its existing controls for disclosure support files.
What is a realistic quarterly process for a small IR team?
A small Investor Relations team can keep a quarterly AI answer audit record with one shared evidence file and role-based reviews. The process can use an existing access-controlled system if it preserves answer text, screenshots, source links, filing quotes, and re-checks.
Investor Relations selects the topics and captures each engine. The CFO office checks financial measures and guidance. Legal reviews filing references, while communications checks leadership and company descriptions. Each finding then receives one owner, one action, and a planned re-check.
How much does an AI search audit for investor relations cost?
The current cost of an Investor Answer Audit appears on the pricing page. Buyers should compare the audit scope, delivery period, re-checks, and event coverage before selecting an option.
The Quarterly Audit covers one earnings release and is delivered within 48 hours. The Annual Program includes 4 Quarterly Audits, a 14 day re-check after each fix, and audits for major events such as an investor day, M&A, or a CEO change.
How is a quarterly record different from a one-time audit?
A one-time audit captures one point in time. A quarterly record preserves evidence across earnings releases, approved actions, and later checks.
The Quarterly Audit examines the investor answers tied to one earnings release. The Annual Program adds repeat coverage, post-fix checks, and audits when major company events change what investors may ask.
The right option depends on the required audit frequency and event coverage. Compare the available options on the pricing page.
FAQ
What is a quarterly AI answer audit record?
A quarterly AI answer audit record is dated evidence of each captured answer, source, filing check, finding, owner, and re-check.
The record connects what an engine displayed to the company filing used for review. It also preserves later actions without deleting the original evidence.
Do AI engines guarantee that corrections appear by a set date?
No. The official documentation reviewed for this guide does not promise a correction date or guarantee when updated information will appear.
Record when a company source changed and when the engine was checked again. Do not promise that the answer will change within the same interval.
How many investor questions should a company test?
Use a company-specific set based on likely investor questions, stable facts, the latest filing, and recent company events. Do not rely on a fixed list.
The set should change when guidance, reporting segments, leadership, or major events change. Keep a reason for every topic added or removed.
Where should the audit record live?
Keep the audit record in an access-controlled system that Investor Relations, the CFO office, and authorized legal staff can retrieve.
Store answer captures, filing evidence, findings, and re-checks under stable test IDs. Follow the company’s existing access and backup rules.
How long should a company keep the record?
Follow the company’s approved records schedule. Investor Relations and legal should agree on the retention period before the first audit.
The schedule should cover original captures, filing quotes, actions, and re-checks. Do not create a separate retention rule without internal approval.