---
title: "Understanding Variation in AI-Generated Answers"
url: "https://help.sorcero.com/en/article/understanding-variation-in-ai-generated-answers"
language: "en"
last_updated: "2026-09-18T16:59:19.029Z"
---

# Understanding Variation in AI-Generated Answers

Sorcero's AI features, such as Instant Insights Engine and Insight Generator, can return a slightly different answer if you ask the same question more than once. This is expected behavior.

## Where you'll see this

| Feature | What it does | Can the result vary between runs? |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Instant Insights Engine** | Answers a question you type, built from your records on the Instand Insights page, a Collection details page, or a Stakeholder details page | Yes, for open-ended or subjective questions |
| **Insight Generator** | Writes a summary of a Collection or Stakeholder | Yes, for open-ended or subjective summaries |

This applies to features where you ask an open-ended question or request a summary. It does not apply to objective facts, which pull directly from your data rather than interpreting it.

* * *

## Why answers vary

When you ask an open-ended question, such as "what are the top 5 insights" or "what are the most important themes," the AI has to interpret and weigh the information in your records, not just retrieve a fixed answer. There is more than one reasonable way to do that.

Think of it like asking a few colleagues to read the same stack of reports and summarize the main themes. You'd get a few different but equally reasonable summaries. Nobody did it wrong. They just weighed the information differently. The AI works the same way: it can read your records and reach a slightly different, still accurate, conclusion each time.

The larger or more open-ended the request, the more room there is for this kind of variation.

If you need an exact number or to find specific data, use **Records** or **Stakeholders** search and filters instead of asking the AI to count or search for you.

* * *

## Getting more consistent results

Narrowing your question and adding more specficity reduces the room for variation, even on subjective topics.

| Instead of | Ask |
| --- | --- |
| "What are the top themes?" | "List the top 3 themes from oncologist interactions in Q2 2026, as a bulleted list" |
| "Summarize this Collection" | "Summarize efficacy discussion of \[drug/asset\] in this Collection in 3 bullet points" |
| "What's important here?" | "What adverse events were expressed most commonly in this Collection?"<br>"What adverse events seem to have the most severe concern from stakeholders in this Collection?" |

Asking for a specific number of items and a specific format gives the AI less room to interpret the request differently each time.

* * *

## What to expect

-   Subjective or open-ended questions can return different, equally valid answers across separate attempts.
-   The same question asked twice within a Collection or Stakeholder page can still vary because the scope is set but the interpretation is not.
-   If two answers to the same question look contradictory rather than just differently worded, double-check against the reviewed records directly.

* * *

## Troubleshooting

| Problem | What to do |
| --- | --- |
| Same question returns different themes or summaries | Expected for open-ended questions. Narrow the question or specify a format to reduce variation |
| A count looks different between two answers | Confirm the number using **Records** search or filters, not the AI response |
| Results feel inconsistent for a factual question | Rephrase using exact terminology from your records, such as an exact tag or keyword |
| You need the same result every time | Use record filters and exact search instead of an open-ended AI question |