Searching and sources — Gemini

1In one sentence

Gemini can look things up on Google while it answers, and the links it shows underneath let you check where each fact came from.

2New words

Grounding — the AI's habit of basing its answer on real pages it found, rather than on memory. Google calls its version "grounding with Google Search".
Source — a web page the answer relied on. Shown in a "Sources" list under the answer, or as small numbered links in the text.
Knowledge cutoff — the date when the model's general learning stopped. For anything newer it must search.
Sources button — the button that appears under an answer only when Gemini looked things up. No button means it answered from memory.

3Why you would want it

Without search, an AI is like a well-read friend who has been in a cabin without internet for a year. With search, it can tell you today's opening hours, this week's news, or whether a product is still sold. The links are what turn "trust me" into "here, see for yourself".

4Try it now

In a new chat, ask: What are the current rules for carrying liquids in hand luggage on flights from [your country]? Give the source links.
Watch the answer. Scroll to the bottom and look for a "Sources" list, or small numbered links in the text.
Click one link and compare what the page says with what Gemini said.
Ask a follow-up: Which of these facts are you least sure about?
Ask the same question in a new chat without the words "Give the source links" and see whether the Sources button still appears.

5What you will see

An answer with a Sources list under it, each entry a web page Gemini read:

An answer with the sources list under it

Clicking Sources opens a side panel with the links; an answer with no Sources button did not search.

6Watch out

Gemini decides on its own when to search. If the answer looks like it came from memory (no links, vague dates), say Search the web for this and show sources. It usually complies.
A source link proves that a page exists, not that the page is right. A forum post and a government page look the same in the list. Read the address before you believe it.

7Go further

For a question that needs twenty sources instead of three, read Chapter 1.8 on Deep Research.