Everyday work · Practical guide
Research with AI without losing the source
- Tools
- Multi-tool
- Audience
- People getting started with AI
- Topic
- Everyday work
You’ll finish with: a research note where every usable claim leads back to an opened original source.
Research is useful when you can follow the answer back to something real. Keep the question narrow and the sources close. A row of blue links is a starting point, not a quality certificate.
Set up
Budget 25 minutes. Use an assistant with web search and page reading, plus a browser. A text-only model can organise supplied sources but cannot verify current pages by itself.
Try this example
FICTIONAL PRACTICE MATERIAL
Question: Does a chosen venue offer step-free access and a room for 20 people? Fictional source A says capacity 24. Source B, a review from last year, mentions stairs. Current accessibility details are missing.Do the task
- Ask for official sources first and record when each page was checked.
- Open the pages supporting the two decision-critical claims.
- Separate verified facts, conflicts and questions for the venue.
Your reusable prompt
Research the supplied venue question. For each claim provide the exact page URL, evidence location, date checked and remaining uncertainty. If you cannot open a page, mark it unverified.
PRACTICE INPUT
Question: Does a chosen venue offer step-free access and a room for 20 people? Fictional source A says capacity 24. Source B, a review from last year, mentions stairs. Current accessibility details are missing.Refine your result
Do not resolve the stairs conflict by guessing. Draft a short question for the venue asking about the route to the actual room.Check the result
Capacity 24 supports the size requirement in the fictional example. It does not establish accessible access. A review is not current confirmation from the venue.
Save and reuse
Save a source table and the question you still need answered. Recheck changing facts before booking.
Sources and notes
- How Perplexity search and citations work Checked 2026-10-05
- The practice input and teaching prompt are original 5HO material. Examples are fictional; they are not screenshots or claims of a completed real-world task.
- Official documentation supports the relevant product concepts. Setup availability depends on your account; where a guide offers a fallback, it does not prove the connected capability worked.