We have just rolled out a batch of improvements to AskTrip, with three main changes:

  • Medicines information
  • Answer consistency
  • Improving the efficiency of Beyond Trip

Medicines Information

Previously answers about medicines (e.g. side effects, dose etc) relied on the reports in the research literature. This was fine, to a point, but we realised dedicated information was required. So, now, if we receive a question about medicines we include the relevant content from the DailyMed and openFDA. Both are great medicine resources.

Answer consistency

AI can be a bit inconsistent at times (it’s described as being non-deterministic) and this can manifest itself by giving slightly different answers and using different references for the same or very similar questions. Typically, these differences are small – often just nuances – but they can still feel a bit unsettling! So, we’ve introduced something we call reference stripping. In essence, when we receive a question that’s very similar to a previous Q&A, we ensure the new answer takes the earlier references into account, boosting consistency across responses.

Improving the efficiency of Beyond Trip

Beyond Trip was proving quite expensive to run, so we needed to find ways to reduce costs. Previously, the system reviewed all of the top search results we found. But we soon realised that “top” didn’t always mean relevant. Many results near the top of the list weren’t particularly useful for the actual query.

To fix this, we introduced an extra step to exclude results that are likely to be irrelevant. The remaining results are then reviewed sequentially until we’ve gathered enough evidence for a solid answer. This approach reduces costs and brings a small but welcome speed boost.