Overview
A hallucination occurs in an AI model when the system generates an answer that is confident but incorrect, partially fabricated, or not supported by any real source of information. In other words, the model produces output that sounds plausible but isn’t true, even though it presents the answer as fact.
This happens because Large Language Models (LLMs), like those that drive general use chatbots like ChatGPT and Gemini, don’t inherently “know” facts—they generate responses by predicting the most likely sequence of words based on patterns learned during training. When the model:
Lacks the specific information needed
Is given a vague or incomplete prompt
Encounters a question outside its training data
Tries to fill in gaps to be helpful
It may produce an answer that looks right but has no grounding in actual data. This is a hallucination. Public LLMs are especially prone to this because they are not connected to your institution’s verified information and cannot check whether their answers are correct.
How is Element451’s Bolt AI different from ChatGPT or Gemini?
Public LLMs rely only on the prompt you type. They don’t know your institution, your data, or your policies—and if they don’t know an answer, they may make one up. While BoltAI is built on the same best in class frontier models used by OpenAI, Google and others, Element451 limits AI responses to verified sources: your KnowledgeHub content and your actual Element451 data. Bolt AI Agents are specifically prompted to trend to “I don’t know” rather than provide answers they are unsure of.
What does Element451 do to prevent hallucinations?
We use several layers of accuracy controls:
Grounding: AI answers must come from your Knowledge Hub, special information provided under-the-hood by Element451 prompts, or your CRM data.
RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation): We retrieve and rank the most relevant content before generating a response.
Guardrails: Internal prompts instruct the AI to say “I don’t know” if the information can’t be confirmed.
Citations: In Bolt Discovery and Bolt AI agent chats, we cite the public knowledge source when available to provide additional information discoverability and confidence in the answers provided.
Can hallucinations still happen?
Yes—no LLM can reach 100% but Element451 consistently achieves a high level of accuracy. Most issues occur when:
KnowledgeHub content is outdated or incorrect or lacks sufficient context
Underlying data is incomplete
A temporary bug affects retrieval
Keeping your KnowledgeHub up to date ensures the best results. AI accuracy is only as strong as the information it stands on. If the information in the Knowledge Hub is wrong or incomplete, the answer will be wrong. If it’s complete and current, Bolt AI performs exceptionally well.
If you see problematic answers or responses, reviewing your KnowlegeHub content is a great place to begin.