Reference · Glossary
Temperature
A dial that controls how **random** vs **predictable** an LLM's word choices are. Low = safer and repetitive; high = creative and risky.
When to use
- **Low (0–0.3):** facts, code, JSON, support replies
- **Medium (0.5–0.7):** general chat, explanations
- **High (0.8+):** brainstorming, poetry, naming ideas
When not to
High temperature on medical, legal, or numeric tasks increases confident wrong answers.
Example
Same prompt at temperature 0.1 → nearly identical answers. At 1.0 → varied metaphors and word choices each run.