Citation
A link or reference an AI attaches to a claim to show where it came from. Worth checking, not proof on its own.
When a chatbot searches the web or reads your files, it can attach citations: numbered links, source chips or a list of pages under the answer. They show where a claim came from, so you can check it.
A citation can still let you down in three ways. The page may not exist, especially when there was no search and the model wrote a plausible-looking reference from what it learned in training. The page may exist but not say what the answer claims. Or it may say it, but be a weak source. So finding the source isn't the end of the check. Finding the sentence is.
For example
An AI answer says renters in your city pay a certain average rent and links a real government page; you open it, and the page covers a different year and a different region.
Put it to use
Where you'll meet citation in ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude, how to use it there, and the mix-up most people make.
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