How I fixed Gemini's biggest flaw with one simple sentence

Android Authority

a day ago

Rita El Khoury / Android Authority
It's a known fact that ChatGPT, Gemini, and most AI chatbots hallucinate answers sometimes. They make up things out of thin air, lie to please you, and contort their answers the moment you challenge them. Although those are becoming more rare instances, they still happen, and they completely ruin trust. If I never know when Gemini is saying the truth and when it's lying to me, what's the point of even using it?
That's why I mostly gravitate towards Perplexity for my search queries. I like seeing the sources in front of me and being able to click to read more from trustworthy sites. Then it occurred to me: There's a way I can make Gemini behave more like Perplexity, and all it takes is a single sentence!
I've been using this trick for a few months and the results are genuinely game-changing for me. I can't go back to Gemini without it now.
I added one very clear instruction under my Gemini 'Saved info'
Rita El Khoury / Android Authority
It's been several months since Google added the option to feed Gemini specific information or sets of instructions to personalize it to your likes and expectations, and I've been making great use of this Saved info feature since then. One of the first bits I saved was this:
Every answer should come with at least 3 links to source pages I can click on to read more.
That's it. I added this as a new thing for Gemini to remember under Settings & help > Saved info (web) or profile picture > Saved info (mobile app) or by going to this Saved info URL. And once it was done, Gemini understood that it should always share sources and links with me once it's done with its main answer. I didn't have to repeat this sentence with every question or message; no, it just became a ground rule for it.
Gemini provides sources about 20% of the time without being asked. By adding this simple instruction, I raised that to 90%.
While it's true that Gemini does offer a 'Sources and related content' button sometimes at the end of its answer, that has been super unreliable and capricious to show up in my experience. I'd say I get it on about 20% of my answers. The forced instruction, though? It works about 90% of the time, and I know exactly why it doesn't appear in the remaining 10%. It's often in situations where I have another set of rules (be brief for the weather, share a map when recommending places, etc.) that Gemini skips this instruction and doesn't share the three sources. The rest of the time, those three links are reliably waiting for me and have consistently been very relevant to my question or query.
Gemini's sources help me verify its claims and get more info
I was in Mulhouse last week and wanted to visit Basel for the day and catch the Women's Euro quarter-final game between France and Germany. I looked for public transport options for tourists in Basel, but all I could find was the Basel Card, which is given for free to any overnight guest at a hotel in the city. That wasn't relevant for me, though. What do other people use to pay for transport? I asked Gemini, and it told me to use the day ticket from TNW, the local transit company. Gemini ended by giving me links to read about and buy this day ticket, which helped me verify that it actually exists, check the prices for different zones, and find kiosks to buy it too. The links acted as both verification and extra information, and I found them extremely useful because of that.
The three source links have also come in handy when looking up what to order at a Peruvian restaurant, aji de gallina or tacu tacu, because I'd never heard of either dish (spoiler: we got both and loved them!). They've helped me see what a 'Paire de Gendarmes' is at a french restaurant (literal translation: two policemen, but in reality two long sausages), and what kind of cheese a cancoillotte is, as well as pick between a Riesling and Gewurztraminer wine bottle to bring back home.
In situations like these, where I have a more complex query than a simple Google Search, but where I still want a source to read and some photos, this forced-sourcing trick has bridged the gap for me between Gemini and Search. I get the benefits of both, with the perk of seeing extra-relevant links that apply to the most complex questions.
Another frequent example I run across is when researching products to buy, like choosing the best Ninja smoothie blender for me, seeing if a discounted Delsey Turenne Soft bag was worth the price, looking up the composition and efficiency of repellants for an unfortunate ant invasion, or picking the right brand and model of outdoor awning. The links that Gemini provided in each instance helped me verify that it wasn't hallucinating the perks of a particular awning or the efficiency of a certain ant repellent. I had studies to read and reviews to check to make sure I was making the right decision.
Perhaps, though, the biggest benefit I've seen with this sourcing strategy is when troubleshooting obscure issues on my Home Assistant setup. The best solutions and tricks are often buried 20 layers deeps in a random forum thread, and Google searches fail at finding those. But if I describe the problem and the parameter well enough, Gemini will find solutions for me. Having the source link there helps me read more about what other users said, check if their problems were really similar to mine, and see whether their proposed solution worked for others. It's only through these links that I can properly verify the occurrence of a bug and trust that the suggested solution code/settings will fix it without messing up with other features.
Through these links, I was able to discover how to visualize my Home Assistant Zigbee network, all the issues plaguing the Matter integration in Home Assistant (and specifically my new Meross power strip), the side effects of disabling some router features to create a stable Matter network, and more.
So if you're struggling with Gemini's answers, fearing some hallucinations, and hoping for a faster way to verify its claims and their accuracy, or wishing you could click to read more like in a traditional Google Search, then I suggest you follow my steps and add that one instruction to your Gemini saved info. You never know when it'll come in handy with links you just want to click.