Does the You.com Research API return citations?

Definition: Yes. As of 17 October 2026, You.com's Research API, a software interface for researched answers, documents a default Markdown answer with numbered inline citations and a separate sources array. Each citation connects answer text to an entry in that array, which contains source URLs.

Key facts

• You.com's Research API overview shows citation markers such as [[1, 2]] referring to items in the sources array.
• The API reference requires a source URL; source titles and snippets are optional fields.
• The Structured Output guide says sources remain in output.sources when the answer uses a custom JSON schema.
• The Research API Quickstart prints the answer and then enumerates source titles and URLs, starting at one.

What does the default response contain?

You.com's API reference describes an output object containing content, content_type and sources. By default, content is a Markdown string, meaning text with formatting for elements such as headings and lists. The content_type value is text. Numbered citations inside the answer refer to the accompanying source list.

Each item in sources has a required url. Its optional title names the page, and optional snippets contain relevant excerpts used to generate the answer. An application consuming the response therefore needs to handle sources without titles or excerpts.

The same reference defines a separate warnings list for issues such as source access problems or partial results. With background: true, the initial response contains a task handle; the final answer is retrieved by polling or streaming the task.

How can an application show the source links?

The Research API Quickstart demonstrates the following Python code after a research call stores its response in res:

print(res.output.content)

for i, source in enumerate(res.output.sources, 1):
    print(f"[{i}] {source.title or 'Untitled'}: {source.url}")

The loop labels the first source with one and supplies an Untitled fallback when a title is absent. This gives an application a concrete pattern for displaying the answer alongside numbered source destinations. For a website owner inspecting a response, the source URL identifies the referenced page.

What changes with structured JSON output?

A JSON schema describes the fields and types expected in a JSON object. You.com's Structured Output guide documents the output_schema request parameter for this format. The answer becomes an object in output.content, and output.content_type becomes object.

The sources array remains outside that object, in output.sources. The API does not automatically insert citation fields into the custom object. Applications using this mode need to preserve the separate source list when processing the answer.

The guide also requires an object at the schema root, additionalProperties: false for every object, and every declared property in required. These rules matter when defining predictable fields for a downstream application.

How should the cited claims be checked?

You.com's overview recommends following citation URLs to confirm claims before presenting legal, financial or medical answers to end users. The practical check connects an answer's numbered reference to its source URL and reads that page for support. A returned snippet provides an excerpt for inspection; the linked page supplies the source context.

Related terms

• You.com Research API
• AI citation
• Citation completeness
• Primary source attribution

FAQ

Can I request structured output with the lite effort level?

You.com's Structured Output guide supports output_schema with standard, deep, exhaustive and frontier. Sending it with research_effort: "lite" returns 422.

Does a background request immediately contain the cited answer?

The API reference describes the initial background response as a task handle. You poll or stream the task to retrieve the final result.

Sources

1. You.com, "Research API Overview", undated
2. You.com, "Research", undated
3. You.com, "Research API Quickstart", undated
4. You.com, "Structured Output", undated

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