Field Guide · level 2 · Everyday skills

How do you research with AI and keep the sources?

Get answers with links, check the ones you use, keep a list.

5 min · try it 10 min · as of Oct 2026

Bring this to your team · Team workshopsTeach your team to research with AI and keep the sources. Get in touch

Where's that from?

Someone asks where that number came from. It's in a chat. Somewhere.

Four moves, one paper trail

Each claim keeps a trail to its page.

Search with links
Open what you'll use
Find the sentence
Keep a source list

Search, and ask for links

Turn web search on. Ask for a link after each claim.

My pick for research

ChatGPT logo ChatGPT deep researchAlso good: Gemini logo Gemini Deep Research

Choose the sites it reads and review its plan. Then open its sources before you share.

All my picks

Open the links you'll use

Open only the links behind claims you'll repeat.

Find the sentence. Check the date.

Press Ctrl+F (Cmd+F on a Mac), type its number or key word. Not there, or different? Drop the claim.

Keep a short source list

In your own doc, not the chat: claim, link, date read.

A link isn't proof. Reading is.

Next month, someone asks again. Your list answers in seconds.

Try it · 10 minutes

Research one public question

Nothing private.

Turn web search on. Paste the prompt.2 min
Open the links behind two claims.3 min
Ctrl+F each (Cmd+F on a Mac). Check its date.3 min
Add both to your list: claim, link, date read.2 min

The prompt to paste

Search the web and answer: [your public question].
Put the link right after each claim it supports.
Prefer official, first-hand pages, and say when each was published.
If you can't find a source for something, say so instead of guessing.

Good looks likeTwo claims in your doc, with links and dates.

In your assistant · as of Oct 2026 · Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini

Where the links show up

Menus move often. On a work account, an admin may switch search on or off.

CheckWeb search is on
CheckA link per claim
CheckRead before you repeat

With web search on, a version of your question may go to a search provider. Keep private details out of it.

Claude

Calls it web search. Answers carry citations.

+thenWeb search

A checkmark shows it is on. Team or Enterprise: an owner switches it on first.

Ask

Say “Search the web” in your request

In the new Claude experience, rolling out in stages, there is no toggle: it searches when it helps.

Open

Open the cited sources

Anthropic says every answer that searches includes citations, so you can verify sources yourself.

ChatGPT

Calls it Search. Answers may carry citations and a Sources list.

View all toolsthenSearch

Or type / and pick Search. It may also search by itself.

Open

Select a citation to open its source

Or select Sources, when shown, for cited sources and other links.

Check

Check when the page was published or updated

OpenAI says results and citations can be incomplete, outdated or incorrect.

Gemini

Calls them sources and related links.

Ask

Ask it to search the web and link each claim

Not every answer includes sources.

Open

Sources

At the bottom of the answer, or inline. A side panel opens with the links.

None?

No Sources button: no links

Google says Gemini gave no links for that answer. Treat it as unsourced.

Quick check · three questions

Did it stick?

1You press Ctrl+F (Cmd+F on a Mac) for the number. It isn't on the page. You:
The answer: C A claim you can't find on its page isn't checked. Asking the AI again isn't a check either.
2The answer has 14 links. Two of its claims go in your slide. Which links do you open?
The answer: A Check what you'll repeat. The links behind claims you won't use can wait.
3Where should your source list live?
The answer: B Chats get long and get deleted. In ChatGPT, deleting a chat also deletes its deep research report.

0 of 3 answered

Search or deep research?Side note

OpenAI's rule of thumb: search for quick facts, deep research for depth. A long report has more claims, so the same four moves take longer.

Pages changeSide note

A page can be updated or taken down after you read it. The date read says when it said what you saw. For a big decision, save a copy.

The full checkSide note

This lesson checks where a claim comes from. For names, sums and quotes, and for sizing the check to the stakes, see the lesson on checking an AI answer.

Sources, checked 18 Oct 2026Source

Product details as of Oct 2026, each checked on the vendor's own page on 18 Oct 2026. Recheck by 18 Nov 2026. The examples in the pictures are made up for this lesson.

Anthropic, Enable and use web search (+, then Web search; the checkmark; Organization settings, then Capabilities on Team and Enterprise; no toggle in the new Claude experience; "Search the web"; every response includes citations, "so you can easily verify sources yourself")
Anthropic, Claude Cowork and chat are one Claude (the new Claude experience is rolling out in stages)
OpenAI, Does ChatGPT tell the truth? ("Fabricated quotes, studies, citations or references to non-existent sources"; "first draft, not a final source"; check sources by visiting links directly)
OpenAI, Searching the web with ChatGPT (View all tools, then Search; / then Search; it may search by itself; responses may include citations; Sources, when available; "Search results and citations can be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect"; check when a page was published or updated; rewritten queries sent to search partners; managed workspaces)
OpenAI, Deep research in ChatGPT (Sites, then Manage sites; review and edit the plan; search for quick facts, deep research for depth and thoroughness; deleting the chat deletes its deep research outputs)
Google, View related sources from Gemini Apps (the Sources button, at the bottom or inline; the side panel on the right; not every response has sources; no button means no links)
Google, Search the web in Chrome, section Search within a page (Ctrl + f on Windows, Linux and ChromeOS, Command + f on a Mac; matches highlighted in yellow)

Free kitThe AI Fact-Check KitBring this to your teamTeam workshops · Get in touchBack to level 2, Everyday skills

Read the link. Keep the list.

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