Findings

How the assistants we test changed in 2026

Changes to the AI products themselves that alter what a measurement can mean.

A measurement of an AI answer is only comparable over time if the assistant underneath it holds still. It does not. These are changes we have confirmed in the products we test. Each one is either documented by the company that makes the product, or observed directly in our own test runs and labeled that way. We record each of these settings with every answer we collect.

01

Claude searches less at its lowest effort setting.

The change
Anthropic documents that Claude Fable 5.1, at its lowest effort level, calls a search tool less often and answers from memory more than Fable 5 did.
What it means
Whether an answer reflects a fresh search can now depend on a setting the person asking never sees.
Source
Anthropic, "What's new in Claude Fable 5.1" and the Fable 5.1 prompting guide, platform.claude.com.

02

Claude no longer accepts a forced search.

The change
Anthropic lists forced tool use as a breaking change in Fable 5.1: a request that requires the model to use a named tool is rejected.
What it means
A test can offer search to the model but can no longer make it search.
Source
Anthropic, "What's new in Claude Fable 5.1", platform.claude.com.

03

Gemini cites through redirect links.

The change
Gemini's search-grounded answers cite sources as Google redirect links that have to be followed to find the real site, and some never resolve.
What it means
Counting cited sites therefore needs an extra step, and a share of Gemini's sources stay unknown.
Source
Observed in our own runs, August 2026.

04

ChatGPT often cites a map search, not a website.

The change
In our August runs, ChatGPT's search model frequently cited Google Maps search links carrying a business name instead of the business's own site.
What it means
A test that counts only website citations misses these, so a map link has to be recorded as its own kind of source.
Source
Observed in our own runs, August 2026.

If you have seen a change we have not listed, tell us: [email protected]

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