From question to source: how an AI answer can take shape
Carsten Pohl
Three links appear beneath an AI answer. Did the system read only those pages? Did they determine every statement? The display alone does not establish either conclusion.
When web search is involved
A system may derive searches from a question, retrieve results and combine information into a response. Google describes a process for its AI search features that can run related searches across subtopics. Other products may use different procedures depending on their implementation and the request.
Not every answer uses current web pages at all. Begin by establishing whether search was involved and what evidence about that search is available.
What a source link establishes
A displayed link can be opened and checked against the associated claim. That is useful, but it is not a complete reconstruction of how the answer was produced. One page may support a single figure while a comparison includes other information.
Read the text and sources together. Which claim is the link supposed to support? Does the page actually make it? Is the information current, and do its conditions match those in the answer?
Turn an observation into a task
An outdated pricing page cited in an answer is a specific finding. Your domain being absent initially establishes only the outcome of one query. Explaining it takes further answers, comparable questions and, where available, information about the searches performed.
Google’s explanation of AI search features describes the approach used in its own products.
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