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What Is the Best Claude API Temperature Setting for Factual Accuracy?
Learn the ideal Claude API temperature setting for consistent and factual answers in your Q&A app. Discover why keeping it near 0.0 ensures accuracy and predictability.
Question
You want Claude to give very predictable, consistent answers for a factual Q&A app. What temperature setting should you use?
A. Temperature doesn’t matter for facts
B. Low temperature (near 0.0)
C. Medium temperature (around 0.5)
D. High temperature (near 1.0)
Answer
B. Low temperature (near 0.0)
Explanation
When building a factual Q&A app using the Claude API, a low temperature setting—ideally near 0.0—ensures predictable and consistent outputs. The temperature parameter controls the level of randomness in the model’s responses.
A lower value makes the responses more deterministic, meaning Claude is more likely to produce the same factual answer each time for identical inputs. Higher temperatures increase creativity but reduce consistency, which is undesirable for factual or data-driven applications.