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Model Drift

Reviewed 19 July 2026Canonical definitionPart of: Agent Evaluation Terms →

Model drift is the gradual change in a model's behavior or output quality over time, often caused by shifts in input data, fine-tuning updates, or upstream model provider changes. Continuous monitoring is needed to detect it early.

§01 / QUESTIONSterm: Model Drift
Questions

Common questions.

What is Model Drift?

Model drift is the gradual change in a model's behavior or output quality over time, often caused by shifts in input data, fine-tuning updates, or upstream model provider changes.

How does Model Drift work?

Continuous monitoring is needed to detect it early.

Which terms are related to Model Drift?

Closely related concepts include Drift Detection (Agent), Regression Detection (Agent), Continuous Integration Agent, Quality Gate (AI). Each is defined in the Prefactor glossary.

§02 / RELATEDnext: where this fits
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Where this fits.

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