Citation
Also: citations
A pointer to the source that supports a statement, so someone can check it.
The fuller definition
In an AI work product, a citation points to material offered as support for a statement, ideally at a precise location.
Delivery may be possible in the first week of April, subject to inspection.
Delivery was promised on 1 April.
The output changes certainty, invents a specific day, and loses a condition. A link to the real source makes checking possible; it does not make that summary accurate.
A concrete example
A summary cites A01, page 3, paragraph 2, so the reader can check the qualification.
The distinction that matters
A real source and a valid page number can still be cited for a proposition that source does not support.
Related terms
Provenance
The record of where a piece of information came from and how it got here.
Documents & retrievalGrounding
Basing an answer on a named source or set of facts. A link to a source does not prove the answer follows from it.
Reliability & securityHallucination
When the model states something that sounds right but is made up, including cases, quotes, and facts that do not exist.
Where it is taught
How document-grounded AI answers workSource and further reading
Sentence Transformers · Semantic searchThe definition and example are written for this library. The link gives background, official documentation or legal authority as labelled. Legal scope depends on the jurisdiction and current text; product features depend on release and settings.