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Ground Truth Evaluation

Reviewed 19 July 2026 Canonical definition Part of: Agent Evaluation Terms →

Ground truth evaluation is the assessment of an AI agent's outputs against a known-correct reference dataset to measure factual accuracy, task completion, and output quality. It is the most reliable form of agent evaluation but requires investment in curating and maintaining accurate reference data. Ground truth evaluation is used for agent benchmarking, regression testing, and compliance validation in high-stakes use cases.

§01 / QUESTIONSterm: Ground Truth Evaluation
Questions

Common questions.

What is Ground Truth Evaluation?

Ground truth evaluation is the assessment of an AI agent's outputs against a known-correct reference dataset to measure factual accuracy, task completion, and output quality.

How is Ground Truth Evaluation used in production?

It is the most reliable form of agent evaluation but requires investment in curating and maintaining accurate reference data. Ground truth evaluation is used for agent benchmarking, regression testing, and compliance validation in high-stakes use cases.

Which terms are related to Ground Truth Evaluation?

Closely related concepts include Quality Gate (AI), Ground Truth, Evaluation Dataset, Evaluation Harness (Agent). Each is defined in the Prefactor glossary.

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