Trust indicators
Help users decide when to accept, when to verify, and when to escalate — without faking precision.
7 patterns in this family
Same kind of element, used at different moments of the task.
Numbered or hovering markers that bind each claim to a retrievable source.
A visible estimate of certainty — level, band, or hedged language — so users know when to check.
An expandable record of steps, tool calls and intermediate findings behind the answer.
State when sources were updated and how much of the corpus was actually searched.
The system names exactly what a human should double-check, turning blanket doubt into one task.
A plain statement of a known limitation, placed where it changes the user's next action.
Explicit control over what the system may retain, train on, and share, stated before capture.
Critique checklist for trust indicators
These questions apply to every pattern in this family. Ticks are saved in this browser.