Knowledge Source Toggle
Show what the AI is allowed to see
AI with access to multiple connectors — Drive, Slack, Notion, Email, Web — should make those sources visible and switchable. The user picks which sources are in scope before the run, sees how many hits each contributed, and can flip any source off when the answer should not see it. No silent aggregation.
Framing
The problem
Multi-source AI silently aggregates from every connector — users cannot tell what the answer actually saw, or stop it from seeing something it should not.
The pattern
Show every connector as a visible toggle, attribute every claim to a source, and let users scope sources per query.
Why chat breaks here
Chat hides retrieval inside the system; the user gets one merged answer with no surface to scope or audit the inputs.
Risks
Too many sources at once create noise; weak attribution can imply sources were used when they were merely consulted.
Avoid when
The system has a single, well-known source and explicit toggling adds friction without insight.
Use when
Answers draw from multiple sources and users need to scope or audit which inputs were used.
DOPE evaluation
- Directability
- Toggle any source on or off per query, save scoped source-sets for repeat use
- Observability
- Every active source is visible, with hit counts after each run
- Predictability
- Removing a source removes its contribution — the answer changes accordingly
- Explainability
- Every claim in the answer is attributed to a specific source
In the wild
- Claude Connectors (Anthropic) — The composer's "+" menu — or typing "/" — opens Connectors; toggle Gmail, Drive, Slack, GitHub, Linear or Microsoft 365 on for that conversation. Each directory entry states the connector's read/write capabilities before you connect. The toggles live on the conversation, not on the Project.
- Gemini Notebook Source Toggles (Google) — Renamed from NotebookLM on 16 July 2026; the surface is unchanged. A checkbox on each source includes or excludes it from the answer, and citations quote the source directly — hover for the full quoted text, click to jump to its location in the document. Still the cleanest per-claim attribution in the set.
- Perplexity Projects Sources (Perplexity) — Spaces became Projects on 30 July 2026; existing Spaces migrated automatically. A Project's Settings tab picks which of 400+ connectors it uses, with per-connector instructions, alongside its own files and prioritised domains. Scoping is durable across every session in the Project rather than chosen per query.
- ChatGPT Company Knowledge (OpenAI) — Connectors were renamed Apps in Dec 2025 and folded into the Plugin directory in July 2026. Picking "company knowledge" from the composer's + menu opens per-app toggles for that chat, and the answer cites back to sources. Business/Enterprise/Edu on web only — and left unselected, ChatGPT may still use apps automatically.
FAQ
When should I use the Knowledge Source Toggle pattern?
Answers draw from multiple sources and users need to scope or audit which inputs were used.
When should I avoid the Knowledge Source Toggle pattern?
The system has a single, well-known source and explicit toggling adds friction without insight.
What problem does Knowledge Source Toggle solve?
Multi-source AI silently aggregates from every connector — users cannot tell what the answer actually saw, or stop it from seeing something it should not.
Why is chat the wrong fit for this?
Chat hides retrieval inside the system; the user gets one merged answer with no surface to scope or audit the inputs.
Related patterns
- Often paired with: Citation Trail — Pick which sources are in scope, then trace each claim back to the source that grounded it.
- Alternative to: Constraint Rules Engine — Soft scope per query vs hard rule across queries. Toggle is ephemeral, constraint is durable.
- Extends: Consent — Per-query source scope sits inside the durable consent grant — toggle narrows, consent permits.