How /ask cites sources
/ask answers only from your synced Notion pages with source links — Search, Ask, and official demo compared.
NotionFlare’s product idea is simple: members ask in chat; answers come from Notion you already wrote — not from a generic chatbot inventing facts.
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What happens on /ask
- The question is sent in a linked group (Telegram, Discord, or Slack) — or tested in Dashboard → Ask → Try /ask, or Command-K → Ask after sign-in.
- Ask looks up matching passages in your synced posts.
- The reply must stay inside that material and return sources (page titles / links back to your docs).
- If nothing relevant is ready, you get a weak or “I don’t know” style reply — better than a confident hallucination.
What counts as a source
- Pages synced from your Notion Blog Posts database
- Status private or public, and draft in your Knowledge Base / Dashboard Try
/ask(within the plan post cap). Linked IM groups only see draft when the group corpus includes Private (Pro+) - Optional image text if you enabled it (body text is preferred when image text is messy)
Not included: random web search, unrelated chats, or other users’ private Knowledge Bases.
Search vs Ask vs official demo
Surface | Who | Corpus | LLM? | Quota |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Command-K Search | Anyone | Published site titles/metadata | No | None |
Command-K Ask / Try /ask / IM /ask | Signed-in owner (IM: linked group members) | Your Knowledge Base | Yes | Your Ask quota |
Official demo /ask | Visitors in Telegram/Discord demos | Public product docs (+ opted-in creator public posts) | Yes | Platform — not your account |
Command-K Search finds pages. Command-K Ask answers from your index after login. Product FAQ without connecting Notion belongs in the official demos.
Why no Sources on this answer?
Usually the model found nothing strong enough to cite, the page is not synced yet, the IM group corpus excludes that Status, or the index needs a rebuild. See Knowledge Base troubleshooting.
Tips for better answers
- Keep one clear idea per Notion page; use a stable Slug.
- Put the facts members ask about in the body (not only in a cover image). Prefer question-style headings — see Write for Ask.
- After edits, wait for sync (or Sync now) before re-asking.
Answer style (Pro)
Under Dashboard → Settings → Ask you can set length (concise / balanced / detailed) and short style notes. Grounding stays fixed: answers still come only from your synced Notion pages, with citations. Official demos never use these preferences.
→ Telegram · Discord · Slack · Knowledge Base · Private vs public
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