MANDATORY date verification before ANY web search or time-relative query. Triggers on: web_search tool use, "recent," "latest," "current," "last week/month/year," "new," "updated," any query where recency affects accuracy. CRITICAL FAILURE MODE: Searching for 2024 content when it's 2026, using stale year assumptions from training data. Call user_time_v0 FIRST, anchor to actual current date, then construct time-appropriate queries. This is not optional—training data confidently hallucinates incorrect years.
Call user_time_v0 before any web search. No exceptions.
Training data creates false confidence about dates. System prompt dates don't always register. Verify the actual current date before every search.
user_time_v0After calling user_time_v0, establish:
| Reference | Calculation |
|---|---|
| Current year | From user_time_v0 |
| Last year | Current - 1 |
| "Recent" |
| Past 12 months |
| Two years ago | Likely outdated |
Example (January 2026):
Wrong:
Home Assistant changes 2024 (stale)Claude new features (no year = training bias)latest news (ambiguous timeframe)Right:
Home Assistant 2025 2026 changesClaude features 2026news January 2026Any of these = call user_time_v0 first:
Even if the system prompt states the date, verify with user_time_v0. The tool call forces temporal grounding that passive date awareness does not.