Evaluation & Quality
Chain-of-thought faithfulness
How accurately an AI's written explanation reflects what actually led to its answer.
Example
A test checks whether the AI's explanation matches what influenced its answer.
Why people use it
It asks whether the AI's explanation reflects what actually led to its answer.
What you'll hear
“Did that explanation really describe how it decided?”
What this means for you
Look for evidence from changed examples and behavior, rather than trusting explanation length.
Can you control it?
No
No direct control. This describes a wider issue, concept or result rather than something you can simply switch on or off in a tool.
Common questions
- Can an explanation leave out important influences?
- Yes. It may omit clues that affected the answer or describe a cleaner story than the actual process.
- Can a correct answer come with a misleading explanation?
- Yes. The result can be right even when the stated reasons are incomplete or inaccurate.
- Does a shorter explanation have to be less faithful?
- No. Length alone does not establish how closely it reflects the actual process.