Evaluation & Quality
Refusal rate
The share of tested requests that an AI refuses to answer or carry out.
Example
A test counts how many requests an AI declines.
Why people use it
It helps compare how often AI declines requests under stated test conditions.
What you'll hear
“How often does it refuse questions like these?”
What this means for you
Separate sensible refusals from cases where useful help was wrongly withheld.
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
- Is a lower refusal rate always better?
- No. Some refusals are appropriate, while others unnecessarily block legitimate requests.
- Can the wording of the request affect it?
- Yes. Different phrasing can change whether the system interprets a request as acceptable.
- Can a single combined rate hide important differences?
- Yes. Refusing harmful requests and refusing ordinary requests should be distinguished.