Use case 03
A source reference is not yet evidence.
The most dangerous failure of a language model is not the obviously wrong answer. It is the formally impeccable answer with a plausible-looking reference, on which somebody bases a client decision.
The difference lies in the direction of travel. A general model writes an answer and produces the source reference as part of that writing — the reference may be right, but it need not be, and you cannot tell by looking. CSRD-GPT retrieves the passage from the curated collection first and writes on that basis. The citation therefore shows what the answer actually rests on, and can be checked.
Why it matters
Three kinds of error you cannot see in an answer.
The incomplete list
A list of eight items in the legal text comes back with six. The six are right, the answer looks complete, and the two missing ones are, in experience, the two that matter most in practice.
The slip back into the old version
A standard title or a threshold from a superseded version is completed from memory, even though the rest of the answer comes from current texts.
Backing down when contradicted
Told “but it says so in sentence 3”, the model withdraws a correct statement. On contested interpretations that is more dangerous than a clear wrong answer.
All three produce formally clean, complete-looking answers. That is exactly why a checkable citation is not a convenience feature but the only countermeasure that works in daily practice.
In practice
What this means day to day.
The limits of the collection are visible
When a question cannot be answered from the curated collection, “that is not in here” is the right answer. A gap that is named costs you five minutes of research. One that gets written over costs you the assurance.
External material is marked
Where material outside the collection is drawn on — emission factors or sector data, say — it should be marked as an external source and not appear as a citation in the legal act.
Holding position under contradiction
On contested questions of interpretation, the range of defensible positions belongs in the answer. Contradiction alone is not a reason to withdraw an evidenced statement.
Version and date travel with the answer
Every statement about a requirement names the version it rests on. With two versions applying side by side, no statement is complete without it.
Frequently asked
What is the difference between a citation and a source reference?
A source reference can be generated without the source having been read — it is then part of the language produced. A citation points to the passage that was actually retrieved and used as the basis for the answer. Only the second can be checked.
Can CSRD-GPT draw on external sources?
The default is the curated collection. Where material from elsewhere is used, it should be marked as such. When a question cannot be answered from the collection, “that is not in here” is the right answer.
What happens with contested interpretations?
Where several defensible readings exist — on the consolidation exemption, for instance — the range belongs in the answer, not a single position. Contradiction alone is not a reason to withdraw an evidenced statement.