Tellen Logo
Back to Blog
Header image for Traceability in AI: If You Can’t Show Your Work, You Can’t Be Trusted
AI
4 min read

Traceability in AI: If You Can’t Show Your Work, You Can’t Be Trusted

July 17, 2025
Photo of Paul Gerlich
Paul Gerlich

One of the weirdest problems in AI is trust. Not the warm, fuzzy kind. The “can I stake my job on this output” kind.

And trust is weird because it breaks in both directions. Some people assume the AI is always right, like it’s some infallible oracle from the future. Others treat it like it’s a compulsive liar who just happens to know US GAAP. Both are wrong. Both are dangerous. Especially in places like audit, where you're signing your name on things that actually matter.

At Tellen, we’ve been wrestling with this. Not with trust itself.. but how to earn it.

Our answer? Traceable AI.

Everything the Tellen platform does, from tiny data extractions to big narrative conclusions, is tied back to source documents, step-by-step logic, and human-readable rationales. Like an audit trail for every neuron in the system.

Because if your AI can't explain itself... it's not smart. It's just vibing.

Confidence is Not Credibility

Let’s get one thing straight: confidence is not the same as credibility.

Most generative AI models are professional gaslighters. They sound really sure, even when they’re dead wrong. That’s terrifying when you’re writing code or summarizing a contract. It’s borderline catastrophic if you're signing off on financial statements.

The core problem is this: you usually can’t tell where the answer came from. You don’t get context, you don’t get justification, and you definitely don’t get a paper trail. Just vibes.

If you're using AI for real work, especially work that gets audited or reviewed, that's not good enough. You need receipts. Literally. Bounding boxes. Source files. Step-by-step rationale. Not just "what" it said, but why, how, and from where.

So What Does “Traceable AI” Actually Mean?

It means that every single output — a conclusion, a data extraction, a paragraph — is tied back to:

  • The source document Not just "this PDF" but "this field, in this table, on this page."

  • The exact steps the system took Inputs, Outputs, Rationale, every piece of data it considers. No mystery hops.

  • A human-readable rationale Not just "confidence = 0.93" but a real, plain-language explanation of why it did what it did.

It's like giving AI the same standard we expect from a junior auditor: show your work, be clear, and don't make stuff up.

How We Do It at Tellen

Our system is built around structured agents. These agents don't just output text. They walk through workflows, record every step, and generate structured outputs that map to real audit processes.

Each agent tracks:

  • Every tool it used (e.g. retrieval, classification, extraction)
  • The data it considered
  • Any conclusions it made, with a complete audit trail back to the source document
  • A full end to end rationale on its process

The result? Outputs that are auditable. Not just in theory, but in practice. You can click into any part of an answer and see where it came from. No hand-waving. No "the AI just knew"

Why It Matters

Traceable AI isn't just for peace of mind. It unlocks real things:

  • Faster reviews You don't have to second-guess the AI. You can verify it.
  • Client confidence When your AI gives answers and the receipts, people stop treating it like a magic 8-ball.
  • Compliance and audit-readiness The AI can survive the same scrutiny you do. That's the bar.
  • Better humans + better AI When people understand why something was done, they can challenge it, refine it, and trust it next time.

This is the kind of AI you want sitting next to you, not replacing you, but backing you up with evidence when it counts.

The Future of AI Isn't Magic.. It's Math Class

We think the future of AI looks a lot less like science fiction and a lot more like your favorite math teacher. AI shows its work. It encourages questions. It doesn't get offended when you check its answer.

Traceability isn' some "nice-to-have" feature. It's what makes AI trustworthy. And in our world, if it isn't traceable, it isn't ready for production.

No black boxes. No mystery logic. Just clear thinking, solid evidence, and tools that earn your trust… one justified answer at a time.

Want help bringing traceability into your firm? Let's talk.