Keep what happened separate from what’s expected. An observed event, an estimated arrival and a confirmed delivery are three different statements. AI can prepare an update, but it can’t create a missing event.
Isn’t tracking real-time?
Check how fresh each record actually is. Location signals can drop and timestamps can conflict across systems, so unknown status should stay visible.
Three different statements.
- Observed
- A recorded event: what happened, where and when, with its source.
- Estimated
- An expected arrival, with the time it was calculated and the information it used.
- Confirmed
- The completion evidence your process requires. Arriving near the site may not establish delivery.
Practical check: Define the milestone before automating the update.
A fictional example: an old ping, a current-looking answer.
The last location update was at 10:00. A 14:00 arrival estimate was calculated at 10:05. At 13:30, don’t present that estimate as a newly verified promise. Show its age and the missing update, and use the agreed carrier or operations fallback rather than inventing a fresh status.
Practical check: Stale information needs a visible timestamp.
A first test: prepare the update, keep the uncertainty.
Check. Match the shipment and milestone, and reconcile the source, time zone and timestamp.
Route. Send stale, contradictory or missing evidence to the named operations owner.
Verify. Test against actual completion records before changing a shipment to delivered.
Practical check: Judge the evidence, not how fluent the message sounds.
Read more: How Do You Know an AI Agent Actually Finished the Task? · Using AI to Read Shipping Documents: What Still Needs Checking
The example is fictional. This is general guidance, not advice for your situation.