Glossary
Source Selection
Source selection is the process an AI search system uses to choose which retrieved documents or passages will support a response. Relevance, authority, freshness, diversity and product-specific rules may influence selection, but exact weighting is rarely public and should not be presented as a known formula.
In plain terms
It is how an AI engine decides which of the pages it found are good enough to use.
Why it matters
Being indexed is only eligibility. Source selection determines which evidence actually reaches the generated answer.
How to apply it
- Study cited pages for patterns without claiming a universal formula.
- Improve direct relevance and verifiable evidence.
- Earn independent sources that corroborate important claims.
Example
An engine retrieves dozens of pages about payroll compliance but cites a government page and two specialist explainers in the final answer.
Sources
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Ranking is no longer enough
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