Kill the [1]: How to Remove Citations from Copilot Studio Answers
When citations get in the way of the experience, here is how to remove them from Copilot Studio answers.
![A smart tabby cat wearing round glasses and a tweed suit sitting at a desk, using a glowing tool to zap bracketed citation numbers like [1] and [2] off a holographic text display, leaving the answer clean.](/mcscatblog/assets/posts/remove-citations-in-copilot-studio-answer/header.png)
Citations are valuable for transparency and trust, allowing users to verify information and explore sources. In many channels, they display cleanly and enhance the user experience.
However, there are scenarios where you might want to hide them. For example, when knowledge sources are internal files uploaded directly to the agent, or when users don’t have access to the source documents, citations can create confusion or clutter the interface.
When should you hide citations?
There are specific use cases where hiding citations improves the user experience:
- Uploaded File Citations: When files are uploaded directly as knowledge sources to the agent, citations display as raw indexed chunks of the source data rather than clean links. This creates a wall of text that clutters the interface and reduces readability.
- Access Restrictions: Users may not have permissions to access the source documents directly, making citation links unusable.
If these scenarios apply to your use case, this guide will show you how to remove citations from your agent’s responses using YAML configuration.
Depending on how your agent is set up, there are two ways to do this.
Scenario 1: You use Generative Orchestration (The Default)
If you are using the modern Generative orchestration mode, the agent decides when to trigger the answer. You can intercept the response before it reaches the user.
The No-Code Alternative In generative orchestration, you can also use instructions to influence the presence of citations. E.g.,
Never include any citation in your knowledge answers. These should be removed before an answer is sent.Note: This generally works well, however, instructions are probabilistic (the AI handles them), while the code method below is deterministic (math handles it). If you need a 100% guarantee, use the code below.
The Fix
- Create a new Topic from blank.
- Click the … More (three dots) on the top right of the canvas.
- Select Open code editor.
- Delete everything currently in there and paste the following YAML magic:
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kind: AdaptiveDialog
beginDialog:
kind: OnGeneratedResponse
id: main
actions:
- kind: SetVariable
id: setVariable_IndFsH
variable: System.ContinueResponse
value: =false
- kind: SetVariable
id: setVariable_InhmTQ
variable: Topic.answerNoCitations
value: |-
=Trim(
With(
{
// 1. Cut off the text at the start of the citation block "[1]:"
// If no citations exist, this keeps the whole text.
CleanedFooter: First(Split(System.Response.FormattedText, "[1]:")).Value
},
// 2. Remove inline markers [1] through [6]
Substitute(
Substitute(
Substitute(
Substitute(
Substitute(
Substitute(
CleanedFooter,
"[1]", ""
),
"[2]", ""
),
"[3]", ""
),
"[4]", ""
),
"[5]", ""
),
"[6]", ""
)
)
)
- kind: SendActivity
id: sendActivity_9USOB6
activity: |
{Topic.answerNoCitations}
What is actually happening here?
We are using the OnGeneratedResponse event. This is a special trigger that fires after the orchestrator has generated an answer, but before it is shown to the user.
System.ContinueResponse = false: This is the “Stop the Presses!” command. It tells Copilot Studio not to send the message it just generated.
The Power Fx Processing: The original text (System.Response.FormattedText) is processed through Power Fx functions:
- Removing the footer:
Split(..., "[1]:")locates the citation block at the end of the message and removes it. - Removing inline markers: A series of
Substitutecalls remove inline citation markers[1],[2], etc. (This example handles up to 6 citations).
SendActivity: The cleaned text is sent to the user.
Scenario 2: You use “Classic” or Explicit Topics
If you are using the Conversational Boosting system topic or a manual Create generative answers node, you need to handle the output directly in the node rather than using the OnGeneratedResponse event.
The Fix
Go to your Conversational Boosting topic, open the Code editor, and look at this pattern. You essentially want to replace the standard flow with this logic:
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kind: AdaptiveDialog
beginDialog:
kind: OnUnknownIntent
id: main
priority: -1
actions:
- kind: SearchAndSummarizeContent
id: search-content
autoSend: false
variable: Topic.Answer
userInput: =System.Activity.Text
responseCaptureType: FullResponse
- kind: ConditionGroup
id: has-answer-conditions
conditions:
- id: has-answer
condition: =!IsBlank(Topic.Answer)
actions:
- kind: SetVariable
id: setVariable_BPFogc
variable: Topic.answerNoCitations
value: |-
=Trim(
Substitute(
Substitute(
Substitute(
Substitute(
Substitute(
Substitute(
Topic.Answer.Text.Content,
"[1]", ""
),
"[2]", ""
),
"[3]", ""
),
"[4]", ""
),
"[5]", ""
),
"[6]", ""
)
)
- kind: SendActivity
id: sendActivity_bqHVcB
activity: "{Topic.answerNoCitations}"
- kind: EndDialog
id: end-topic
clearTopicQueue: true
Implementation details
In this approach, you modify the Create generative answers node (which appears in YAML as SearchAndSummarizeContent).
autoSend: false: Prevents the node from automatically sending the response, allowing you to process it first.
responseCaptureType: FullResponse: Captures the complete response object so you can access and manipulate the text content.
Citation Removal: The same Power Fx substitution pattern is applied to Topic.Answer.Text.Content.
Send & End: The cleaned text is sent, and the dialog ends explicitly.
Summary
This guide demonstrates how to remove citations from Copilot Studio responses when they don’t serve your use case. Choose the approach that matches your orchestration mode, and customize the Power Fx expressions to handle the number of citations you typically encounter.
Remember that citations provide transparency and trust in many scenarios, so consider your specific requirements before removing them.