$ man validation

Validation

Checking if data is real, accurate, and usable before you act on it. Email validation (does it exist?), persona validation (does the title match?), company validation (do they fit ICP?), Claygent validation (did the AI hallucinate?).

Bad data kills campaigns. If 20% of your emails are invalid, your bounce rate tanks deliverability. If your AI-generated icebreakers are fabricated, your reply rate goes to zero and you look like an idiot. Validation is the filter between "data exists" and "data is trustworthy."

I validate emails with MX records — not by stacking providers in a waterfall. single provider finds the email, MX record confirms the domain's mail server, routing logic takes it from there. I validate personas by running job titles through a qualification prompt that checks them against tier definitions. I validate companies with a scoring prompt that checks firmographics against ICP. I validate Claygent outputs with a 6-step checklist: row sample → hallucination check → JSON schema → confidence scoring → credit cap → scale. Validation happens at every layer. It's not one tool. It's a discipline.