Attribution format is consistent across response types

Ad-hoc citation language — sometimes [1], sometimes "according to the docs," sometimes nothing — prevents the UI from rendering clickable references, breaks footnote components, and forces users to scroll back and hunt for sources. This degrades the user-experience taxon and undermines the inference-contract: users cannot verify claims when citations are inconsistent or absent. Support teams cannot build tooling on top of an undefined format, and audit trails for regulated industries become unworkable.

Define a single citation format in the system prompt (inline numbered brackets plus a trailing reference list) and add matching UI components to render the markers as clickable footnotes. Update the prompt in lib/ai/prompts.ts and the renderer in components/ai/citations.tsx.

const systemPrompt = `Cite inline with [1], [2]. End with: [1] Title — section, [2] Title — section.`

• ID: ai-response-quality.source-attribution.attribution-format-consistency

• Severity: low

• What to look for: Enumerate all relevant files and In applications with RAG or multi-document retrieval, check whether the citation format is defined consistently in the system prompt or output formatting instructions. Look for a defined pattern (e.g., [1], (Source: X), footnotes) versus ad-hoc citation language. Check whether the UI has any rendering support for the citation format (e.g., numbered reference list, footnote component, tooltip on citation markers).

• Pass criteria: At least 1 conforming pattern must exist. Citation format is explicitly defined in the system prompt or formatting instructions. The UI has corresponding rendering support for the citation style.

• Fail criteria: No citation format is defined, resulting in the AI using inconsistent attribution language (sometimes [1], sometimes "according to", sometimes nothing).

• Skip (N/A) when: No RAG or retrieval pipeline detected, or application does not rely on source attribution as a feature.

• Detail on fail: "No citation format defined in system prompt — AI attribution style is inconsistent across responses" (max 500 chars)

• Remediation: Define and enforce a citation style:

  const systemPrompt = `
  When citing sources from the provided context, use inline numbered citations: [1], [2], etc.
  At the end of your response, list the cited sources as:
  [1] Document Title — relevant section
  [2] Document Title — relevant section
  `