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ADR-003: Opt-in web research

Status: Accepted
Date: 2026-05-19

Context

Campus KB answers must default to governed corpus content. Many RAG demos silently fall back to open-web search when retrieval is weak—eroding trust and auditability.

Decision

Web search is per message, not automatic:

  • Client sends research_mode=web on the chat request (Vue toggle).
  • Server gates on WEB_RESEARCH_ENABLED and provider (mock | tavily).
  • UI shows a disclaimer banner on web answers; sources use source_kind=web.
  • LangGraph web path: condense → web_search → generate → format (skips KB rerank).

KB path always retrieves first; web is never a silent fallback when retrieval scores are low.

Consequences

Positive

  • Clear trust model for institutional deployments.
  • Operators can disable web entirely via config.
  • Demo-friendly mock web provider without Tavily API keys.

Negative

  • Users must explicitly opt in—extra UI step vs “always augmented” assistants.
  • Web answers are not grounded in the campus KB; disclaimer is required.

Alternatives considered

Alternative Why not
Always-on web augmentation Conflicts with KB governance story
Silent fallback when retrieval fails Hides weak retrieval; hard to debug
Separate web-only product Duplicates auth, sessions, and UI

References