Provenance is the record of where a message, claim, artifact, or result came from and how its lineage can be checked.
Definition
Provenance names the origin and lineage of a message, claim, artifact, or result. It helps a reader answer where something came from, what transformed it, and what evidence supports it.
Why it matters
AI handoffs become reviewable only when readers can trace the source, request, actor, transformation path, and evidence trail. Without provenance, a result may look plausible while hiding which prompt, model, tool, source, or intermediate artifact shaped it.
In AI exchanges
In AI exchanges, provenance may include trace identifiers, source URLs, tool outputs, prompt context, model outputs, registry references, review notes, and integrity anchors.
Source
Where the input, document, model output, registry record, or external claim originated.
Lineage
How the artifact changed across prompts, tools, transformations, summaries, or handoffs.
Review
Which evidence lets a later reader check whether the result is still trustworthy.
Common confusion
- A timestamp is not provenance by itself.
- An audit log can support provenance, but it is not the whole source story.
- A citation helps, but the system should also preserve how the citation was selected and transformed.