LocalBridge

Research template - 3 to 8 tabs

Compare several sources prompt template

Most comparison answers fail because the assistant blends the sources into one confident paragraph. This template forces it to keep them apart and to say out loud where they disagree.

The prompt

I am giving you several sources. Treat them as separate, competing accounts, not as one body of text.

For each source, in order:
1. One sentence on what it claims.
2. The strongest evidence it offers for that claim.

Then:
- List every point where the sources disagree. Quote the conflicting lines.
- List the points where they all agree.
- Say which position is best supported and why. If the sources are too thin to decide, say so instead of picking one.

Rules:
- Attribute every claim to a numbered source. Never merge two sources into one statement.
- If something is only in one source, mark it as unconfirmed.
- Do not use outside knowledge unless I ask. If you do, label it clearly.

My question: [WHAT YOU WANT DECIDED]

Why this prompt is written this way

Asking for a comparison without structure usually gets a summary, because summarising is easier and reads as confident. Numbering the sources and requiring attribution removes that shortcut.

The instruction to quote conflicting lines matters more than it looks. It is the difference between an assistant telling you the sources disagree and showing you the sentences so you can check.

The permission to say the evidence is too thin is what stops the confident wrong answer. Without it, the assistant will pick a side because you asked it to.

Getting more out of it

  • Send the sources in the order you want them numbered. Assistants generally keep the order they receive.
  • Three to eight sources works well. Past that, the earliest ones lose detail as the context fills up.
  • If one source is authoritative, say so in the prompt rather than assuming the assistant will infer it from the domain.
  • Ask a follow-up for the disagreements only. The second pass is usually sharper than the first.

Works best with

3 to 8 tabs open at once. Send them together rather than one at a time, so the assistant can compare them instead of forgetting the first by the time it reads the last. Sending tabs to Claude explains the options.

Common questions

Does this work with both Claude and ChatGPT?
Yes. It uses plain instructions and numbered structure rather than anything model-specific, so it behaves much the same in either.
How many pages can I send at once?
That depends on the assistant's context window and how long the pages are. LocalBridge sends up to eight tabs and trims each one to its readable text, which keeps most research sessions inside the limit.
Why does it tell me to avoid outside knowledge?
Because mixing training data with your sources makes it impossible to tell which is which. If you want the assistant's own view, ask for it as a separate, labelled section.

Other templates

Stop pasting tabs one by one

LocalBridge sends the pages you have open into Claude or ChatGPT in one click, so this template gets the sources it needs.

See how it works