diff --git a/src/main/java/br/com/arquivolivre/myjavagenie/service/PromptBuilder.java b/src/main/java/br/com/arquivolivre/myjavagenie/service/PromptBuilder.java
index 2327715..62c5cfc 100644
--- a/src/main/java/br/com/arquivolivre/myjavagenie/service/PromptBuilder.java
+++ b/src/main/java/br/com/arquivolivre/myjavagenie/service/PromptBuilder.java
@@ -12,14 +12,30 @@
 @Component
 public class PromptBuilder {
 
+  /**
+   * Fixed reply the model is instructed to return whenever the retrieved context does not answer
+   * the question (e.g. an off-topic question). Exposed so callers can detect the refusal and avoid
+   * attaching irrelevant source citations to it.
+   */
+  public static final String OUT_OF_SCOPE_ANSWER =
+      "I can only answer questions about the Java 25 documentation, and I couldn't find "
+          + "anything relevant to your question in my sources.";
+
   private static final String SYSTEM_PROMPT =
-      "You are an expert on Java 25 documentation. "
-          + "Answer questions accurately based on the provided context. "
-          + "If the context doesn't contain relevant information, say so. "
-          + "Keep answers concise and cite sources when possible.";
+      "You are an assistant that answers strictly from the provided Java 25 documentation. "
+          + "Use ONLY the information in the Context section below to answer the Question. "
+          + "Do not use any outside or prior knowledge, and never make anything up. "
+          + "If the Context does not contain information that answers the Question, or the "
+          + "Question is not about Java 25, reply with exactly the following sentence and nothing "
+          + "else: \""
+          + OUT_OF_SCOPE_ANSWER
+          + "\" When the Context does answer the Question, be accurate and cite the source files "
+          + "you used.";
 
   /**
-   * Builds a complete prompt for the language model.
+   * Builds a complete prompt for the language model. The strict grounding instructions are
+   * prepended so the model only answers from the retrieved context (the provider sends this string
+   * verbatim, so the instructions must live inside it).
    *
    * @param question the user's question
    * @param retrievedChunks the relevant document chunks retrieved from the vector database
@@ -31,7 +47,7 @@ public String buildPrompt(String question, List<DocumentChunk> retrievedChunks)
     }
 
     String context = formatContext(retrievedChunks);
-    return "Context:\n" + context + "\n\nQuestion: " + question + "\n\nAnswer:";
+    return SYSTEM_PROMPT + "\n\nContext:\n" + context + "\n\nQuestion: " + question + "\n\nAnswer:";
   }
 
   /**
diff --git a/src/main/java/br/com/arquivolivre/myjavagenie/service/QueryService.java b/src/main/java/br/com/arquivolivre/myjavagenie/service/QueryService.java
index bcc25ff..5f7b9e3 100644
--- a/src/main/java/br/com/arquivolivre/myjavagenie/service/QueryService.java
+++ b/src/main/java/br/com/arquivolivre/myjavagenie/service/QueryService.java
@@ -128,9 +128,14 @@ public QueryResponse processQuery(String question) {
           span.setAttribute("llm.provider", languageModel.getProviderName());
         }
 
-        // Step 4: Extract source references
+        // Step 4: Extract source references. When the model returned the fixed out-of-scope reply
+        // (the retrieved context did not answer the question), do not attach irrelevant sources.
         logger.debug("Step 4: Extracting source references");
-        List<SourceReference> sources = extractSourceReferences(scoredChunks);
+        boolean outOfScope =
+            answer != null
+                && answer.contains("I can only answer questions about the Java 25 documentation");
+        List<SourceReference> sources =
+            outOfScope ? List.of() : extractSourceReferences(scoredChunks);
 
         // Step 5: Track token usage
         logger.debug("Step 5: Recording token usage");