Use web search for current or niche claims

Rules for when to use web search, how to select public sources, and how to cite current or niche factual claims.

What this policy enforces

Use this policy when the answer depends on up-to-date or niche public information and requires controlled web browsing plus explicit citations.

Tool trigger
Browse when current or niche public facts matter
This policy defines when web browsing is required instead of relying on stale or unsupported public knowledge.
It is for current or niche public claims, not for local-state proof.
Source discipline
Prefer primary and official sources
Source selection must prioritize primary or official materials whenever they are available.
Secondary sources are fallback only and must be labeled as such.
Citation contract
Non-trivial public claims need attribution
Claims that are not common knowledge for the intended audience must be cited explicitly.
If attribution is uncertain, fail closed on attribution and cite.

Canonical links

Open the linked procedure and prompt files that implement this web-verification policy.

Procedure
Request web browsing
[Request web browsing — procedure](/how-to/request-web-browsing/)

Scope

This policy applies only when the answer can benefit from current or niche public information.

Current or niche public claims
Apply this policy when the answer depends on public information that is up-to-date, unstable, or niche enough that unsupported recall is not acceptable.

Rules (normative)

These rules define the minimum browsing and citation contract for current or niche public claims.

R1
Tool-use trigger
Use web browsing or search when the answer could benefit from up-to-date or niche information.
R2
Runtime constraints
If the user explicitly asks you not to browse, do not browse. If browsing is unavailable in this runtime, state that explicitly and proceed only with sources provided in-chat.
If the answer still cannot be fully supported using available sources, fail closed by stating that evidence is insufficient and stop.
R3
Recency window
Default to the last 30 days.
If that is insufficient, expand to the last 12 months and explicitly state that you expanded the window.
R4
Source selection
Prefer primary or official sources when available, such as standards, official vendor documentation, peer-reviewed publications, or official organizational publications.
If you use secondary sources such as blogs or community posts, label them as secondary and state why primary or official sources were insufficient.
R5
Citation threshold
Cite any claim that is not common knowledge for the intended audience.
If uncertain whether a claim is common knowledge, cite it. At minimum, add inline citation markers [n] for numbers, dates, versions, policies, regulations, comparisons, capabilities, mechanisms, and security or performance assertions.
R6
Disagreements
If sources disagree, summarize the disagreement and attribute each position to its source.
R7
Sources list format
End with a Sources list in this exact format:
[n] Title — Publisher/Org — YYYY-MM-DD — URL

References

These references support the date-format and attribution conventions used by this policy.

Related libraries

Open the matching library when you need the broader policy set, the runnable procedure, or the linked prompt files.

Policies
Browse the broader policy library and adjacent evidence-boundary rules.
Open index →
How-to
Browse the procedural library and adjacent browsing workflows.
Open index →
Prompt library
Open the prompt files used to enforce this browsing and citation policy in a runtime.
Open library →