← Glossary · Behavior

hallucination

Concept

Fact-checked May 20, 2026

Also called: AI hallucination, LLM hallucination

When an AI makes up information that sounds convincing but isn't true or based on its training data.

AI hallucination happens when a language model generates information that feels very confident and coherent, but is actually factually incorrect or completely nonsensical. It's like the AI is dreaming up an answer rather than recalling facts, and it doesn't know the difference. This can be tricky because the 'hallucinated' output often looks perfectly legitimate on first glance, using a confident tone and realistic-sounding details.

This behavior is a common challenge with large language models. It occurs for various reasons, including limitations in their training data, misunderstandings of context, or simply trying to fill in gaps when they don't have enough clear information. While researchers are actively working to reduce hallucinations, it's an important reminder for users to always double-check critical information provided by AI systems.

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