AI dictionary for work
Evaluation (eval)
A test for whether an AI workflow is working.
What it means
An evaluation, or eval, is a repeatable check that an AI setup produces good results — running it against known examples and comparing the output to what you expected.
Why it matters at work
Before trusting an AI workflow for real work, test it on a handful of real cases, including tricky ones, and see where it fails. That is your eval.
Beginner mistake
Judging an AI tool from one lucky demo. One good answer is not evidence it is reliable across the cases you actually face.
Example prompt
Here are five real examples with the answers I would expect. Run each one and tell me where your output differs and why.
Last updated 2026-06-16 · Reviewed for current AI tools