03 · Retrieval, Evidence & Consensus

Source Diversity

The range of independent sources feeding a system's understanding.

Industry Term

Full explanation

Source diversity is the range of independent sources contributing to an AI system's understanding of a brand or topic. A claim on only one site is evidence. The same claim confirmed across several independent sources is corroboration.

Why this matters

It explains why publishing more on your own site has diminishing returns. Ten pages on one domain is still one source.

Where this sits

Source Diversity belongs to Retrieval, Evidence & Consensus, one of the seven layers of the Aingworth Glossary. Information exists, then it is retrieved, then sources are selected, then they corroborate one another, then consensus emerges. This is where Aingworth's Consensus Over Rankings thesis lives.

Related terms

Corroboration Independent sources confirming the same thing. Third-Party Evidence Evidence about a brand from sources it does not control. Composite Picture The aggregate impression AI systems assemble from every signal across the web.
Back to Retrieval, Evidence & Consensus Back to Full Glossary

Ready to see where your brand stands?

Start with the free diagnostic to see which condition of the Recognition Triangle is leaking, or read the frameworks these terms belong to.

Run the Free Diagnostic Read the Frameworks