In short. You.com offers Research mode with citations, configurable web sources and exports that retain references.

Definition: As of October 2026, You.com is an AI assistant with a Research mode that produces research across multiple sources with citations and analysis. Its documented source controls let users select the websites considered during a search.

Key facts

You.com's mode guide describes Research as available in chats and through the Advanced Research & Reasoning option in agents.
The Advanced Source Controls guide documents searches restricted to a domain, a page or a subdirectory.
The web search options guide says explicitly added URLs remain searchable when broad web search is disabled.
The chat export guide lists both the complete response with citations and a source list among the exported content.

What does Research mode produce?

You.com's Chat modes, LLMs and Agents describes Research mode as a way to combine information from multiple sources into an answer with citations and detailed analysis. A citation is a reference connecting an answer to its source material. The guide identifies business analysis and academic research as uses for this mode.

How can sources be controlled?

You.com's Advanced Source Controls accepts a domain address for an entire website or a URL for a particular page or subdirectory. Its exclusion list removes unwanted sources from consideration. An additional-sources checkbox determines whether the search can extend beyond the supplied domains or pages.

The separate web search options guide explains an operational detail: switching off broad web search still permits searches of explicitly added URLs. This supports research confined to selected locations. For a website review, the distinction matters when recording whether a page appears after being supplied directly or during a broader search.

That guide gives these Search Effort choices:

Low
High
Automatic

The setting balances response speed and depth; Automatic lets the platform determine the depth from the request. Changes to source settings are saved with the Save & close control.

How can citations be checked and retained?

You.com's Copying and exporting chats documents a download button below a response. Available document formats include DOCX, RTF and Markdown. The documented export contains the original query, the complete response with citations and the source list, together with a date and author attribution.

For an agency reviewing an answer about a client's website, these fields provide a record of the question and the pages referenced in the response. Keeping the source list alongside the answer allows a reviewer to compare the cited material with the associated claims. The same guide also documents separate formatted-text and Markdown copy options.

FAQ

Where do I select Research mode?

You.com's mode guide lists Research in chats and Advanced Research & Reasoning in agents. These are the documented entry points for research with citations.

Can I limit research to selected websites?

Yes. The source controls guide describes supplying domains or page URLs and disabling the option to search for additional sources. You can also exclude unwanted sources.

Can I keep the sources when I export an answer?

Yes. The export guide lists a complete response with citations and a source list in the downloaded document. You can select DOCX, RTF or Markdown.

Sources

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