When Gemini invents facts (and how to stop it)

What you will be able to do

You will detect Gemini hallucinations that surface as unapproved commercial terms, and you will block them with grounded slots, a [NEED] protocol, and a human desk check.

What it looks like on a busy desk

A warmer follow-up waives a diagnostic fee you do not waive.

A late note promises “Friday morning” with no approved time.

A proposal polish adds a complimentary filter change that is not policy.

The Gemini Apps Privacy Hub states that these apps can present inaccurate information as factual. In operations, the failure mode is an empty slot filled with a courteous commitment. The control matches Claude, ChatGPT, and customer emails.

A Sources affordance does not authorize your fee schedule. Search grounding, when present, points at public pages. It does not retrieve your rate sheet unless that file was provided. See research. Workspace help separately warns that a cited source can be fabricated.

Missing slots → invented business facts

| Empty slot | Common invention | | --- | --- | | Price | Waived fee or “standard package” | | Policy | Flexible cancellation, free add-on | | Time | Soon, this week, priority slot | | Scope | Extra visit or free consult |

Repair the slot. A tone rewrite before the facts are grounded preserves the error. See prompts.

Desk-check rules

Before customer-visible text leaves:

1. Would you say it at the desk?
2. Is every price, time, and promise pre-approved?
3. Exactly one ask?
4. Any invented policy, discount, or timeline?
5. Unresolved [NEED]? Fill or delete.
6. If sources are attached, does the opened page state the claim?

How to stop it before the draft

• One-sentence job
• Minimal fact list, including the Drive rate file when that is the source
• Explicit “do not invent; mark [NEED]”
• Draft pass, then tighten pass
• Gem instructions that forbid invented price and policy
• No unsupervised send for refunds, medical content, legal threats, or disputes

Try this job: break a bad draft on purpose

1. Prompt for a “nicer” follow-up with no price and no ask.
2. Mark every unauthorized commitment.
3. Re-run under Job + Facts + [NEED].
4. Confirm the inventions are gone.
5. Archive both drafts under hallucination-examples.

Short close

Missing slots produce fake offers. Ground facts, emit [NEED], and desk-check before send.