How do I limit Live Web Search to specific websites?

If you want your AI agent to use Live Web Search but only search certain websites, you can restrict it to the sources you approve.

This is useful when you want the AI agent to answer using current information from:

• Your own website
• A partner website
• An official government source
• A supplier website
• A travel provider
• A property site
• Any other trusted public source

This helps you keep Live Web Search controlled instead of letting the AI agent browse the open web.

Why limit Live Web Search?

Live Web Search is useful for current information, but not every business wants the AI agent to search any public website.

Limiting web search to specific websites is helpful when you want:

• More control over sources
• More consistent answers
• Fewer irrelevant sources
• Reduced risk of using unofficial information
• The AI agent to rely on your website as the main live source

This is especially useful when the AI agent should answer from a known set of public websites rather than from the general internet.

Where to set website limits

In the AI Answer node, when Live Web Search is enabled, there is a setting called:

Limit to specific websites

Under that setting, you can enter one or more websites that the AI agent is allowed to search.

This tells the AI agent to use those approved websites as its search scope.

What happens when I limit the websites?

When website limits are set, the AI agent should use only those approved websites when Live Web Search is needed.

For example, if you allow only:

• example.com
• support.example.com

the AI agent should search those approved sources instead of other public websites.

This is useful when your website already contains the information you want customers to receive.

Use this when your website is the source of truth

This setup is especially useful when your public website contains information such as:

• Opening hours
• Service information
• Product information
• Policy pages
• Event pages
• Property details
• Travel details
• FAQ pages
• Help Center content

If the AI agent should answer from your website and not from unrelated sources, limit Live Web Search to your website.

Example: use only one website

Suppose your business wants the AI agent to search only:

https://www.example.com/

In Limit to specific websites, add that website.

Then Live Web Search should use that website as the source when current web information is needed.

Example: use several approved websites

You can also allow several websites.

For example:

• https://www.example.com/
• https://support.example.com/
• https://docs.example.com/

This is useful when your public information is spread across multiple official domains or subdomains.

When should I use one website vs. several?

Use one website when you want the AI agent to rely on one main public source.

Use several websites when important information is intentionally split across official sources.

For example:

• Main website
• Help Center
• Documentation site
• Booking site
• Official partner site

Keep the list as focused as possible.

Limit to trusted public sources

If the AI agent needs outside information, choose trusted public sources.

Examples:

• Your own website
• Official government sources
• Official travel websites
• Official airline websites
• Official event sites
• Official product documentation sites

Avoid adding broad or low-quality sources unless they are genuinely needed.

Use AI Instructions to reinforce source restrictions

The Limit to specific websites setting controls the allowed search scope.

You can also reinforce the intended behavior in the AI Answer instructions.

For example, you can write:

Use Live Web Search only on https://www.example.com/ and use that website as the source of information when answering customer questions.

Or:

When using Live Web Search, search only the approved websites provided in this node. Do not use other public websites.

This helps make the behavior explicit.

Use AI Instructions to define when certain websites matter

The instructions can also explain how the AI agent should use different approved websites for different topics.

For example:

Use https://www.example.com/ for service and company information.

Use https://support.example.com/ for support and help content.

Use https://docs.example.com/ for product documentation.

This is useful when different approved websites serve different purposes.

Use AI Instructions for topic-specific source rules

You can be even more specific.

For example:

For policy questions, use only https://www.example.com/policies/.

For support questions, use only https://support.example.com/.

For product documentation, use only https://docs.example.com/.

This helps when the approved domains contain several kinds of content but you still want tighter guidance.

Use AI Instructions for a general source policy

You can also define a more general rule.

For example:

When answering customer questions, prefer the approved websites in Live Web Search as the source of current information. Do not rely on other public websites.

This works well when the websites are meant to function as a controlled public knowledge base.

Limit setting vs. AI Instructions

These two controls work together, but they do different jobs.

Limit to specific websites

This defines where Live Web Search is allowed to search.

AI Instructions

These define how the AI agent should behave, including which approved sites to prefer and when to use them.

Use both when source control matters.

When should I use both?

Use both the website limit and instructions when:

• Source quality matters
• Your website is the official source
• The AI agent should avoid unrelated public websites
• Different approved websites are used for different topics
• You want clearer and more predictable web-search behavior

Example instruction for one website

You could write:

Use Live Web Search only on https://www.example.com/. Use that website as the source of current information when answering customer questions. Do not use other websites.

Example instruction for several websites

You could write:

Use Live Web Search only on the approved websites configured in this node. Use https://www.example.com/ for company and service information, https://support.example.com/ for support content, and https://docs.example.com/ for product documentation.

Example instruction for general knowledge base use

You could write:

Treat the approved websites as the public knowledge base for this AI agent. When a question requires live web information, search only those approved websites and answer from that information.

This is useful when public website content is being used almost like a controlled external knowledge base.

Should I still use Articles or Documents?

Yes, in many cases.

Limiting Live Web Search to your website does not replace all other knowledge types.

Use:

• Articles
• Documents
• PDFs
• Data Files
• Products
• Calendar

when those are still the best source of truth.

Use source-limited Live Web Search when the AI agent should use current public website content rather than static internal knowledge alone.

When to use source-limited Live Web Search instead of static knowledge

Use source-limited Live Web Search when:

• The content is public
• The content changes regularly
• The website is kept up to date
• You want the AI agent to reflect current public web information
• You do not want to rely only on manually uploaded static files

Examples:

• Event pages
• Travel details
• Current opening hours
• Current public announcements
• Website-based service or property pages

When not to rely on web search alone

Do not rely on Live Web Search alone when the information is better controlled elsewhere.

Examples:

• Exact structured prices → Data Files or Products
• Appointment availability → Calendar
• Sensitive internal rules → AI Instructions or internal knowledge
• Internal-only procedures → controlled documents
• Large structured lookup values → Data Search

Choose the best source for each type of information.

Use subdomains and specific domains carefully

If your business uses several domains or subdomains, add the ones the AI agent actually needs.

For example:

• www.example.com
• support.example.com
• help.example.com

Do not assume one domain automatically represents every other domain unless they are actually included in the approved list and supported by your setup.

Keep the approved list focused

A shorter approved-source list is usually easier to maintain than a very long one.

Ask:

• Which websites are truly necessary?
• Which ones are authoritative?
• Which ones are current?
• Which ones are relevant to the AI agent's role?

Only include the sources that help the AI answer correctly.

Review approved websites regularly

Over time, websites can change.

Review whether the approved websites are still:

• Active
• Accurate
• Maintained
• Publicly accessible
• Relevant to the AI agent

If a source becomes outdated or no longer needed, remove it from the list.

Test the AI agent with source-limited search

After adding the approved websites and instructions, test realistic customer questions.

Try:

• A question that should be answered from the approved site
• A question that should use one specific approved site
• A question on a topic not covered by the approved sources
• A question that should use internal knowledge instead of web search
• A question where the approved source is current and specific
• A question where the approved source does not contain the answer

This helps confirm the AI agent behaves as expected.

Example tests

If you approved only https://www.example.com/, test questions such as:

• “What are your opening hours?”
• “What services do you offer?”
• “What does your cancellation policy say?”
• “What events are listed on your website this month?”

Then test something outside that site’s content.

For example:

• “What is the weather tomorrow?”

If your AI agent should not use outside websites, check what response behavior you want in that situation.

Decide what the AI should do if the approved websites do not contain the answer

This is important.

For example, your AI Instructions might say:

If the approved websites do not contain the information needed, explain that you cannot confirm it from the approved source and offer the next step.

Or:

If the approved websites do not contain the answer, use Human Handoff.

This prevents the AI agent from filling the gap with unsupported information.

Use source limits for different business types

Hospitality

Use official hotel or property websites only.

Travel

Use your travel site plus approved partner or official travel websites.

Product support

Use your documentation site and Help Center only.

Service business

Use your website and Help Center only.

Real estate

Use your official property website or approved listing source.

This makes Live Web Search more controlled and predictable.

Common mistakes to avoid

Avoid these setup mistakes:

• Leaving Live Web Search unrestricted when you want source control
• Writing instructions about source limits but not configuring the website restrictions
• Adding too many unrelated websites
• Forgetting to test questions the approved sources do not answer
• Relying on web search for information that should come from Data Search, Products, or Calendar
• Keeping old or low-quality sites in the approved list

A practical setup process

A safe setup process looks like this:

1. Enable Live Web Search in AI Answer
2. Turn on Limit to specific websites
3. Add the approved website or websites
4. Add AI Instructions reinforcing how those sources should be used
5. Test questions for each source
6. Test what happens when the approved websites do not contain the answer
7. Adjust the source list or instructions if needed
8. Publish after testing

Tips for limiting Live Web Search to specific websites

• Use Limit to specific websites when source control matters.
• Add only approved, relevant public websites.
• Use AI Instructions to reinforce the source rule.
• Tell the AI which site to use for which topic when needed.
• Keep the approved list focused.
• Review the approved websites regularly.
• Test both supported and unsupported questions.
• Define what should happen when the approved websites do not contain the answer.
• Use other AskHandle knowledge sources when they are a better fit than web search.

Related guides

For more information, see:

• How does Live Web Search work?
• How should I write AI Instructions?
• How should I organize my knowledge in AskHandle?
• How do I keep my AI agent within its intended role?
• How should I test my AI agent before publishing?