Use citation display for claim-level evidence and source preview next to generated or summarized claims; chat interface for the whole conversation transcript; streaming response for partial generated output as it arrives; related links for an onward navigation list; and tooltip for a brief hover or focus hint.
Use citation display for claim-level evidence and source preview next to generated or summarized claims; chat interface for the whole conversation transcript; streaming response for partial generated output as it arrives; related links for an onward navigation list; and tooltip for a brief hover or focus hint.
Practice the judgment: Imagine this situation: A citation stays attached after regeneration even though the claim changed. Write the person's goal, choose one of these patterns, and show the state that helps the person continue. Use the decision rules and source trail below to explain your choice.
Review the underlying principle →| Dimension | Citation display | Chat interface | Streaming response | Related links | Tooltip |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UI or UX | UI + UX - Inline claim-to-source evidence display for generated or summarized content | UI + UX - Multi-turn conversation surface with transcript, composer, assistant responses, and conversation history | UI + UX - Incremental generated-output surface that renders response chunks before final completion | UI + UX - Curated onward links connected to the current content | UI + UX - Short noninteractive description tied to a trigger |
| UI guidance | Render citation markers beside the claims they support, and connect each marker to a selected source preview with title, source type, excerpt, date or version, permission state, and open source action. | Render chat as an ordered transcript with visible user and assistant roles, turn boundaries, timestamps or relative position, current draft composer, submitted prompt, response status, source or tool indicators, and conversation-level controls. | Render streamed output with a visible generation state, partial-answer label, stop control, final-complete state, and clear distinction between text that is still arriving and content that has passed final citation, safety, tool, or format checks. | Render a short, labelled collection of links whose destinations are closely related to the current content, using destination-specific link text and optional relation labels such as service, guidance, external, or PDF. | Render a tooltip as a small text-only bubble visually tied to a focusable trigger, with concise copy, readable contrast, stable placement, and an optional arrow that points to the target. |
| UX guidance | Keep the claim-to-source mapping durable through streaming, regeneration, copying, mobile layout changes, and permission checks so users can tell what evidence applies to which claim. | Use a chat interface when users need a multi-turn assistant conversation where later prompts can depend on earlier turns, responses can be inspected or continued, and conversation history can be saved, resumed, deleted, or limited by policy. | Use a streaming response when showing partial generated output helps users start reading or monitoring work before the model finishes, and when the product can explain that early chunks may still change, be filtered, or lack final sources. | Use related links to support users who have finished or understood the current content and need a relevant next page, adjacent service, reference, or follow-up resource. | Help the person reach a clear task outcome. |
| Good UI | A policy assistant places numbered citation chips after each sourced claim; selecting a chip opens a source preview with the document title, section, quoted excerpt, updated date, and Open source action. | A research assistant chat shows user and assistant bubbles, turn numbers, source chips, streaming status, Stop, Copy answer, Regenerate, New chat, and a conversations list with the active chat title. | A policy assistant shows Answer generating, streams paragraphs into a stable answer region, marks citations pending, exposes Stop generation, then changes to Complete when citations and safety checks finish. | A benefits guidance page ends with Related links: Check eligibility for support, Upload evidence for your claim, and Appeal a support decision, each with a concise relation label. | A labelled Archive icon button receives focus and shows a short tooltip that says Moves this report to archived reports. |
| Bad UI | A citation appears verified while retrieval is still pending. | A conversation auto-scrolls to a new answer while the user is reading an older cited turn, then hides the old prompt after regenerate. | A streaming JSON answer is displayed as valid data before the closing braces and schema check have completed. | A page ends with More information containing Home, Contact us, Apply now, Old 2018 guidance, Help, and an unrelated account settings link. | The tooltip appears only on mouse hover. |
| Good UX | A user checks a claim, opens its source preview, compares the quoted excerpt with the answer text, and copies the citation with the source title included. | A user asks for a policy summary, follows up with Compare that to the renewal clause, sees that the second answer used the first answer and selected file, then exports the two-turn transcript. | A user sees the first-token state quickly, reads early outline bullets while the answer continues, stops generation after enough detail, and sees the result labelled Partial with Continue and Regenerate options. | A user reads claim renewal guidance, chooses Upload evidence for your claim, and sees why that destination is the next useful service page. | Tabbing to Archive keeps focus on the button, shows a short description, Escape hides it, and focus remains on Archive. |
| Bad UX | A user trusts a generated compliance claim because it has a number beside it, but the number points to an unrelated source. | Latest answer is disconnected from the prompt and context that produced it. | A user copies an early legal recommendation before the final paragraph reverses the conclusion after a tool result arrives. | Users follow a generic More information link and land on an unrelated policy collection. | A user presses Escape to hide the tooltip and focus jumps to the top of the page. |
| Best fit | Users need to verify generated claims, summaries, recommendations, or extracted facts against source material. | The user needs a back-and-forth assistant conversation with follow-up questions and answer refinement. | Generated text or structured content can be read or monitored before completion. | The current page has a few genuinely adjacent pages, services, programs, or resources users often need next. | A compact control needs a brief supplemental explanation. |
| Avoid when | Links are simply optional onward reading rather than evidence for the answer. | The task can be completed with a single structured prompt box, form, or command. | Intermediate chunks may expose unsafe, private, or misleading content. | Links are only loosely associated by topic tags or organizational ownership. | The text is the only label or action name. |
| Required state | Default answer with cited claims and inline citation markers. | Empty new chat with conversation title, mode, history or retention status, and a labelled composer. | Queued or receiving state before first output arrives. | Default state with a labelled, curated related-links block and descriptive link text. | Keyboard focus state where the tooltip appears and focus remains on the trigger. |
| Accessibility burden | Give citation markers accessible names that include their selected state and source status, such as Citation 2, verified source, or Citation pending. | Expose the transcript as an ordered region and use a sequential update strategy such as role=log for appended messages where appropriate. | Expose stream milestones such as started, still generating, stopped, failed, citation ready, and complete as status messages. | Use descriptive link text that makes sense out of context. | Use tooltip text as a description with aria-describedby when it supplements the trigger. |
| Common misuse | Displaying a link dump below the answer instead of mapping sources to specific claims. | Auto-scrolling during streaming while the user is reading an older message. | Letting partial output look finished before the final event arrives. | Using related links as a catch-all further-reading dump. | Using hover-only tooltip text as the only label for an icon button. |