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No.163 · AI & Chat

Cited Answer

An AI answer whose citations work both ways: point at a number and its source lifts out of the row above; point at a source and every sentence it supports is underlined.

The prompt

The design brief behind this component — reuse it to regenerate, remix, or explain it.

Design an answer-engine result: a serif question, a 'Sources 4' label with a row of four small source cards (two-line title, favicon initial, domain, index number), then an 'Answer' label and the answer text as sentences, each ending in small pill citations. Make the link between claim and evidence physical and bidirectional. Hovering or focusing a citation pill fills it with the accent, lifts its source card 4px (with an accent ring and shadow) and dims the other cards to 55%. Hovering or focusing a source card does the reverse: every sentence it supports gets a thick highlighter underline that draws in from the left (background-size 0% → 100% on a 0.35em band, 460ms expo-out). Cards and sentences enter with gentle staggers. The palette is a calm off-white with a deep teal ink and accent, plus a night version. Four source columns become two below 34rem (container query).

Notes

Interaction
Hover or focus a citation to find its source; hover or focus a source to see what it supports.
Motion
Card lift 420ms; highlighter underline 460ms; entrance staggers of 60ms (cards) and 90ms (sentences).
Accessibility
Citations are buttons labelled with their source title; sources are links; both respond to focus exactly as to hover. Reduced motion removes motion but keeps the highlighting.
Responsive
Container query drops the sources to two columns below 34rem.
On touch
Tapping a citation focuses it, which lifts its source.

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301 components