Research and fact-checking

Research for a travel piece moves between big questions and very small ones. How did this neighborhood change after the stadium was built? Is the ferry to the island still running in winter? What is that building with the green dome at the end of the street? Answer engines and visual search help with both kinds, as long as you treat what they return as a lead to follow, not a fact to print.

Perplexity, Microsoft Copilot and You.com answer questions in plain language and show the pages they drew on. The links are the useful part. A ferry timetable from the operator's own site and a forum post from several seasons ago can produce the same confident sentence in an answer, and only the source tells you which one you are looking at.

Google Lens works from a photo. Point the phone at a statue, a plant, a dish or a sign and it suggests what it is, which helps when you are writing up a day and can't remember what that church was called. It can also translate text in the image, which overlaps with the translation tools in another category here.

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4 AI travel writing tools in research and fact-checking

Perplexity

by Perplexity AI

AI search engine that answers questions with numbered links to the pages it used, so you can check the source.

  • Free plan or free tier
  • Mobile app
  • Developer API

Microsoft Copilot

by Microsoft

Microsoft's assistant with web answers and links, built into Windows and the Edge browser.

  • Free plan or free tier
  • Mobile app

You.com

AI search and research assistant that answers with citations and lets you pick between models.

  • Free plan or free tier

Google Lens

by Google

Visual search from your camera or photos: identify a building, plant or dish, and translate the text on signs and menus.

  • Free plan or free tier
  • Mobile app

Before you rely on any of them, think about where the answer will end up. A practical detail in a published guide can send a reader to a closed museum or onto a ferry that no longer runs, so confirm it with the operator, the tourism board or your own notes.

Keep a simple research log for each piece: the question, the source you confirmed it with, and the date you checked. Fact-checkers and editors ask for exactly that, and it saves time when you update a guide next season.

Questions about research and fact-checking

Can I cite an AI answer engine as a source?

Cite the page it linked to, not the answer itself. Open the source, check its date and author, and quote that. If the answer has no source you can open, treat the claim as unconfirmed.

How do I check if a place is still open?

Look for the business's own website or social pages, recent reviews with dates, and a phone number you can call. AI answers often repeat old information about closures and opening hours.

Is Google Lens accurate for identifying buildings and dishes?

It is often right for well-known landmarks and common dishes and less reliable for small local places. Use its suggestion as a starting point and confirm the name on a map, a sign or with someone local.

Do these tools keep a record of my research?

Most keep a history of your questions in your account. If you research sensitive stories, such as reporting on local politics, check each tool's privacy settings and whether history can be turned off.

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