Grounding Answers in Search and Documents
Grounding supplies external evidence for a model's response. Search grounding can help with changing public information; document grounding can support questions about an authorized reference collection. Neither eliminates hallucinations.
#The workflow
A system forms a query, retrieves sources, supplies relevant content and generates an answer with source information. The application should preserve the relationship between claims and supporting passages rather than adding a decorative list of links afterward.
Google's search-grounding interfaces vary by API, model and product release. Use the documented configuration for your selected endpoint. Do not paste a legacy SDK's tool object into a different API and assume it will work.
#What to verify
Open the sources. Check publication date, event date and whether the passage supports the exact claim. A recent page can discuss an old event; a high-ranking result can still be promotional or wrong.
For important claims, prefer primary sources and record uncertainty when sources disagree. Search results can contain malicious instructions, so treat them as reference data rather than authority to execute tools.
#Render grounding honestly
Keep citations near their claims and retain any provider-required attribution or search presentation elements. Handle cases where grounding metadata is absent. Do not claim a response was searched when the request did not use search successfully.
Search may add latency and cost. Test a time-sensitive question, an obscure unsupported question and conflicting sources. Compare support and freshness rather than rewarding confident wording.
For private information, use access-controlled retrieval; public search is not a substitute for tenant or document permissions.
