Best practices

For tool-based search (Method 1)

• Dynamic content: Use for real-time searches and dynamic RAG applications
• Error handling: Return appropriate messages when searches fail
• Result limits: Return only the most relevant results to avoid context overflow

For top-level search (Method 2)

• Pre-fetched content: Use when you already have search results
• Batch processing: Ideal for processing multiple search results at once
• Testing: Great for testing citation behavior with known content

General best practices

1. Structure results effectively:

   • Use clear, permanent source URLs
   • Provide descriptive titles
   • Break long content into logical text blocks to give Claude finer citation boundaries

2. Maintain consistency:

   • Use consistent source formats across your application
   • Ensure titles accurately reflect content
   • Keep formatting consistent

3. Handle errors gracefully: when a search fails or returns nothing, return a plain text block describing the outcome (for example, \{"type": "text", "text": "No results found."\}) instead of raising an error: Claude explains the empty result to the user, and the conversation continues.