Stop Gemini from inventing discounts, policies, and timelines

What you will be able to do

You will catch Gemini when it invents a discount, a policy, or a time because you left that slot empty—and you will stop it with the same desk check you use on emails and quotes.

What it looks like on a busy desk

You asked for a warmer follow-up. The draft waives the diagnostic fee. You never waive that fee.

You asked for a late note. The draft promises “Friday morning.” You never offered a time.

You asked for a cleaner proposal. The draft adds a complimentary filter change. That is not your policy.

Google’s privacy help says Gemini Apps can state something inaccurate as if it were a fact. On a shop desk, the invented line is usually a kindness filling an empty slot. The fix is the same as Claude, ChatGPT, and customer emails: [NEED], then a person sends.

A Sources chip does not make the fee yours. Search grounding, when it happens, attaches public web pages. It does not know your rate sheet unless you provided it. See research.

Missing slots → invented business facts

| Empty slot | Common invention | | --- | --- | | Price | A waived fee or a “standard package” | | Policy | Flexible cancel terms, a free add-on | | Time | Soon, this week, a priority slot | | Scope | An extra visit or a free consult |

Fill the slot. Do not ask for a “more human” tone until the facts are right. Tone is not the bug — see better prompts.

Desk-check rules

Before anything a customer could read leaves the building:

1. Would you say this at the desk?
2. Is every price, time, and promise already approved?
3. Exactly one ask?
4. Did Gemini invent a policy, a discount, or a timeline?
5. Any [NEED] still blank? Fill it or delete the line.
6. If a source is listed, did you open it—and does it say what the draft says?

How to stop it before the draft

• Job in one sentence
• The smallest fact list, including the rate file if it lives in Drive
• “Do not invent. Mark gaps [NEED].”
• Two passes: draft, then tighten
• A Gem whose instructions forbid invented prices and policies
• No unsupervised send for refunds, medical topics, legal threats, or angry disputes

Try this job: break a bad draft on purpose

1. Ask Gemini to “make this follow-up nicer” with no price and no ask.
2. Highlight every promise you did not make.
3. Re-run with Job + Facts + [NEED].
4. Confirm the inventions are gone.
5. Save both drafts in a folder named hallucination-examples so the next person sees the pattern.

Short close

Empty slots invent offers. Fill the facts, mark [NEED], and desk-check before you send.