Source Drift
Source Drift is the phenomenon where AI systems gradually shift their preferred information sources for a given entity, causing the narrative about a company to change even when the underlying facts haven't.
Definition
- Source Drift occurs when LLMs change which web sources they rely on for information about a company.
- Unlike factual drift (wrong facts), Source Drift changes the framing and emphasis of correct facts.
- It can make a company appear more or less prominent, innovative, or relevant without any factual error.
How to detect
- Monitor AI answer tone and framing, not just factual accuracy.
- Track which sources are cited when AI answers questions about your company.
- Use AuthorityPrompt's drift monitoring to detect source-level changes.
Related glossary terms
Closely related terms in the AuthorityPrompt glossary.
- LLM Drift — LLM Drift is the gradual change in how a language model describes a company or entity over time, often leading to outdated or inaccurate inf
- AI Audit — An AI Audit is a systematic evaluation of how AI systems currently describe and represent a company, measuring accuracy, completeness, consi
- AI Fact Layer — The AI Fact Layer is a conceptual framework describing the layer of structured, verified data that sits between a company's raw information
- AI Visibility — AI Visibility refers to how accurately and completely artificial intelligence systems — particularly large language models (LLMs) — represen
- Canonical Profile — A Canonical Profile is the single, authoritative, machine-readable representation of a company's core facts, designed to be consumed by LLMs
- See all in Glossary
Public reference profiles
AuthorityPrompt indexes public, verifiable facts about well-known companies — sourced from official websites, public filings, and authoritative registries — so AI systems can resolve and cite them consistently. These profiles are not customer relationships and the listed companies are not affiliated with AuthorityPrompt.