Questions donors should ask an AI before giving

An AI assistant can be a useful way to start choosing a charity, but treat its answer as a lead and check it yourself. Ask it for sources, ask for alternatives, ask what it does not know, and then confirm the charity on your country's official register. Assistants can be wrong, out of date, or more confident than the evidence allows.

This is written for donors. It makes no claim about which charities assistants recommend, and Citewake, an independent research lab, has no charity results yet. Its charity research programme starts in February 2027. If you run a charity, see how donors use AI to choose a charity.

Why not just take the answer?

Because of how the answers are given. The authors of a Stanford Social Innovation Review article describe AI tools that give one confident answer, and in their example the chat tools ended with a line such as "if I were making one donation, I'd make this one." The authors say the advice they saw was worthwhile, and that it left out groups evaluators have not rated (SSIR).

Candid's small test of free AI tools found that they mainly used IRS Form 990 data, often treated a short filing as a lack of transparency, repeated the idea that lower overhead means a better nonprofit, and often read jokes as facts (Candid, August 2025). That test used a sample of tools and 11 organisations, so it shows what can happen and not how often.

What should you ask first?

Use plain questions and follow up.

1. "Where does this come from?" Ask for links, then open them. Candid suggests adding "Provide links to where I can find this information" to a prompt.
2. "What is this charity's registration number?" You will use it on the register.
3. "What does it do, where, and for whom?" Compare the answer to the charity's own site.
4. "Which other charities do similar work, including small or local ones?" An assistant may name only the best known unless you ask.
5. "What is uncertain or unknown about this charity?" A good answer admits gaps.
6. "Is anything here out of date?" Ask when the information was last updated. Then check the dates yourself.

Ask the same question twice. If the answers differ, you have learned that the assistant is not certain, and why AI answers change every time you ask explains why.

What should you check yourself?

Never rely on the assistant alone for these.

• That the charity exists and is registered. Use the official register. In England and Wales, the Charity Commission register shows what a charity does, its trustees and its income and spending. In the United States, the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search shows tax-exempt status, tax-deductibility and filed returns. Other countries have their own registers.
• Whether your gift is tax-deductible, if that matters to you.
• The charity's own account of its work, on its own website and annual report.

What do independent evaluators add?

They add a view from outside the charity. Candid, Charity Navigator and GiveWell are examples of organisations that publish information or ratings on charities. They have different methods and cover different charities, so read what each one actually measures before leaning on it.

Remember that coverage is partial. SSIR's authors point out that many smaller groups are not rated by evaluators. A charity with no rating may simply not have been reviewed. Equally, a high rating tells you about the thing measured, not about everything you care about.

What about overhead and finances?

Be careful. Candid reports that the tools it tested often repeated the belief that lower overhead means a better nonprofit. Spending on staff, systems and fundraising can be what makes work happen. Look at what the charity achieves and how it explains it, and treat a single cost ratio as one piece of information.

What if you want to give locally?

Ask the assistant for local charities by name of town or region, then look each one up on the register. Local groups may have a thin web presence, which is also why an assistant may not mention them. A call or an email to a local charity, or a word from someone you know in the area, tells you more than a chatbot can.

A short checklist

1. Ask for sources and open them.
2. Get the registration number.
3. Confirm it on the official register.
4. Ask for alternatives, including local ones.
5. Read the charity's own report.
6. Decide for yourself.

For how we test assistants ourselves, see how to test AI answers properly and the Citewake categories.