7. Prompting the generator for grounded, cited answers

The generation prompt decides whether retrieval is actually respected.

text
Answer the question using ONLY the numbered sources below.
Cite the source number in square brackets after each claim.
If the sources do not contain the answer, reply exactly: "Not found in the provided documents."
Never use outside knowledge. Never invent source numbers.

[1] (billing.md > Refunds, updated 2026-07-11) ...
[2] (api.md > Keys, updated 2026-08-02) ...

Question: {{question}}

Reinforcements that measurably help: - Number sources and require bracketed citations — then verify each cited id exists server-side. - Include heading path and update date so the model can prefer fresher material. - Ask for a short answer first, details second, so truncation loses the least value. - Post-check: reject or retry answers containing claims with no citation.

Gotcha: if you paste sources without delimiters or ids, the model blends them with pre-training memory and citation accuracy collapses.

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