Grounding (UX)
Grounding in UX is how an interface ties AI answers to verifiable sources—documents, URLs, files, or tool results—so users can check claims.
It is the product face of retrieval (RAG): retrieval fetches context; grounding UX shows it.
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What it means
Citations, source panels, highlighted passages, and inline links that connect generated text to evidence users can open and judge.
Why designers should care
Without grounding UX, even accurate RAG feels like magic—or hallucination. Users need one-click paths from a claim to its source.
Example
Perplexity-style numbered citation chips open the exact paragraph; clicking a chip scrolls the source list and highlights the span.
Common mistakes
- • Citations that do not map to specific sentences in the answer.
- • Sources listed but not openable or paywalled without warning.
- • Grounding UI only on web, not in exports or shared views.