# Using LLMs with SMT Solvers for Automated Reasoning and Formal Verification

DevFeed: [Using LLMs with SMT Solvers for Automated Reasoning and Formal Verification](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/i-was-thinking-about-llm-automated-reasoning-before-it-was-cool-and-i-wasn-t-ready-40128.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://korbonits.com/blog/2026-04-02-i-was-thinking-about-llm-automated-reasoning-before-it-was-cool-and-i-wasnt-ready/>)

Published: 2026-04-02T00:00:00Z

Content type: opinion

Language: en

Sources: [Alex Korbonits](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/alex-korbonits.md>)

Topics: [Automated reasoning](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/automated-reasoning.md>), [Large Language Model](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/llm.md>), [Formal verification](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/formal-verification.md>), [Prompt Engineering](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/prompt-engineering.md>), [Claude](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/claude.md>), [graph theory](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/graph-theory.md>), [Machine learning](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/machine-learning.md>), [Artificial Intelligence](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/ai.md>)

Tags: [automated-reasoning](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/automated-reasoning.md>), [claude](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/claude.md>), [formal-verification](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/formal-verification.md>), [graph-theory](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/graph-theory.md>), [llm](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/llm.md>), [prompt-engineering](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/prompt-engineering.md>)

## AI overview

The author revisits a November 2023 idea about using Claude and prompt engineering to translate problems into propositions for an SMT solver, satisfy proofs, eliminate unknowns and quantifiers, and return results to an agent. The essay connects this idea to the author's background in formal logic, graph theory and machine learning, while noting that the concept was not novel in isolation.

## Source excerpt

A November 2023 notebook entry about grounding LLMs with SMT solvers -- why formal verification might be the right fix for hallucination, and what it took to finally say it out loud.