---
title: "Check the sources behind an answer"
description: "Check the sources behind an answer"
canonical_url: "https://support.pave.com/articles/check-the-sources-behind-an-answer-D3i3qCdVjZ"
md_url: "https://support.pave.com/articles/check-the-sources-behind-an-answer-D3i3qCdVjZ.md"
---
# Check the sources behind an answer

## What is this?

When Pave Agent answers a question, it shows chips for the sources the answer drew on: Pave market data, Pave support articles, Pave Data Lab research, and your company's Skills. Open a source to check the numbers or read more, without rebuilding the analysis yourself.

Source chips are based on what Pave Agent actually did to answer your question, not on what it says it did. A chip appears for a source only when Pave Agent used that source during the answer, so it cannot list a source it did not use.

## Find the sources for an answer

Source chips appear below each answer, in the row with the feedback and copy controls, once the answer has finished.

\[Screenshot: A Pave Agent answer with a source chip reading "Software Engineering" and "+2" in the row below it\]

* An answer with one or two sources shows a chip for each one.
* An answer with three or more sources shows a single chip with the first source's name and a count of the rest, such as **+2**.

Hover over a chip or select it to see its sources. Each source shows its name and a short description, such as "Market Data, Refreshed May 28". Select a source to open it.

\[Screenshot: The source card open above a chip, listing a Market Data source, a Support Docs article, and a Skill\]

## What each source opens

| Source | What it shows | What opens |
|----|----|----|
| **Market Data** | Pave market data Pave Agent queried for the answer, one chip per job family. The description shows when the data was last refreshed. | The Market Data Explorer in a new tab, with the job family and the filters Pave Agent used already applied. |
| **Support Docs** | A Pave support article the answer is based on. The description shows when the article was last updated. | The article on the Pave support site in a new tab. |
| **Pave Data Lab** | Pave Data Lab research the answer drew on. The description shows its date. | The research in Pave Data Lab in a new tab. |
| **Skill** | A Skill from your company's library that Pave Agent used for the answer. | The Skill in the **Skills** tab of **Context**, on the same page. |

### Market Data sources

A Market Data source opens the Market Data Explorer with the same filters Pave Agent used for your question. The filters can include location, industry, ownership, peer group, and company stage. This lets you check a number against the full benchmark table, or explore from where Pave Agent left off.

A few things to know about what opens:

* **It opens for the whole job family.** Results show every level in the job family, not only the level you asked about.
* **Filters that had more than one value are left off.** If your question covered, for example, two locations for the same job family, the link does not guess which one to use. The location filter is not set, and you can choose it yourself.

See the article on [filtering Market Data benchmarks](https://support.pave.com/en-us/articles/filter-market-data-benchmarks-LVDtKo2ZtE).

### Support Docs and Pave Data Lab sources

Pave Agent links the support articles and Pave Data Lab research it used directly in the text of its answer. Each of those linked items also appears as a source chip. Items Pave Agent looked at but did not use in its answer are not listed.

## See every source in a conversation

The **Sources** section of the panel on the right side of the conversation lists the sources from every answer in the conversation.

* Sources are grouped by the question that produced them, newest first, under a heading such as **Results for "engineering pay in Austin"**. If only one question in the conversation has sources, there is no heading.
* The count next to **Sources** is the total across the conversation. A source used for two different questions is listed, and counted, under each one.
* Select a source to open it, the same as from a chip.
* Select the **Sources** heading to collapse or expand the section. When it is collapsed, icons show which kinds of sources it contains.

\[Screenshot: The Sources section of the right-side panel with sources grouped under two questions\]

The panel appears once Pave Agent has responded with at least one source or artifact. You can hide it with **Collapse pane** and bring it back with **Expand pane**. On smaller screens the panel is hidden, but source chips still appear below each answer. The panel also lists the files Pave Agent created in the conversation. See the article on [creating dashboards, presentations, and documents](https://support.pave.com/en-us/articles/create-dashboards-presentations-and-documents-U1WVmo9rZS).

## Things to know

**Not every source has a chip yet.** Chips cover Pave market data, support articles, Pave Data Lab research, and Skills. Answers that use your company's own data in Pave, files you have uploaded, or your Guidance do not show a chip for those sources. Some kinds of market data questions also do not show a chip yet.

**Web search results appear while Pave Agent works, not as chips.** When Pave Agent searches the web, it shows the pages it found in its progress steps. See the article on [what data Pave Agent can see](https://support.pave.com/en-us/articles/what-data-pave-agent-can-see-V7OoxX9mwS).

**Sources do not appear when you reopen a past conversation.** Source chips and the **Sources** section appear on answers as Pave Agent gives them. If you open a conversation from your history, its answers come back without their sources.

**A deleted Skill opens an empty view.** If a Skill has been deleted since the answer was given, selecting its source opens the **Skills** tab without the Skill's details.

## Frequently asked questions

**Why doesn't an answer have any source chips?** The answer did not draw on a source that has a chip. This is common when the answer comes from your company's own data or from files you uploaded.

**Why does the Market Data Explorer show different filters than I expected?** The link carries the filters Pave Agent applied for your question. If your question covered more than one value for a filter, that filter is left off. Check the filters in the Market Data Explorer and adjust them if needed.

**Can I tell Pave Agent which market data filters to use?** You can ask for specific filters in your question, or write your usual defaults, such as your peer group or target locations, in your Guidance. Pave Agent takes your Guidance into account on every question. To confirm which filters it used, open the Market Data source and check the filters in the Market Data Explorer. See the article on [setting up Guidance](https://support.pave.com/en-us/articles/set-up-guidance-11udENEEc7).