Get early access

    Abstain and your line

    abstain: true means: send this case to a person.

    Built and tested, not yet deployed. Early access.

    On this page

    What abstain means

    abstain is true when:

    • the probability is under the line;
    • the model gave no probability for its answer (probability is null, answer is still set);
    • the model declined the question (answer and probability are null, reasons is ["model_declined"]).

    A rule-settled answer has probability 1, so it never abstains, whatever line you set.

    Your line: 0.8 unless you move it

    The default line is 0.8, the same for all nine named decisions and for your own questions. To move it for one call, send abstainBelow with any number from 0.5 to 0.99. Anything else is a 400:

    Response

    400 Bad Request

    {
  "error": {
    "message": "abstainBelow must be a number from 0.5 to 0.99",
    "field": "abstainBelow"
  }
}

    The worked pair

    A sweepstakes casino’s descriptor at the default line: the answer is true at 0.621, under 0.8, so it abstains.

    curl "$UNDERSTANDING_API_URL/v1/understand" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $UNDERSTANDING_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "decision": "restricted_merchant",
    "input": { "merchant": "LUCKY COINS LLC", "mcc": "5816" }
  }'
    const base = process.env.UNDERSTANDING_API_URL;
const key = process.env.UNDERSTANDING_API_KEY;

const body = {
  decision: "restricted_merchant",
  input: { merchant: "LUCKY COINS LLC", mcc: "5816" },
};

const res = await fetch(`${base}/v1/understand`, {
  method: "POST",
  headers: {
    Authorization: `Bearer ${key}`,
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
  },
  body: JSON.stringify(body),
});
const result = await res.json();
    import os
import requests

base = os.environ["UNDERSTANDING_API_URL"]
key = os.environ["UNDERSTANDING_API_KEY"]

body = {
    "decision": "restricted_merchant",
    "input": {"merchant": "LUCKY COINS LLC", "mcc": "5816"},
}

res = requests.post(
    f"{base}/v1/understand",
    headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {key}"},
    json=body,
    timeout=10,
)
result = res.json()
    Response

    200 OKStand-in probability1

    {
  "decision": "restricted_merchant",
  "type": "predicate",
  "answer": true,
  "probability": 0.62,
  "reasons": ["mcc_5816", "kind_sweepstakes_casino"],
  "abstain": true
}

    The same request with abstainBelow: 0.6: the same answer and probability, and abstain is now false. The line moves only abstain, never answer or probability.

    curl "$UNDERSTANDING_API_URL/v1/understand" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $UNDERSTANDING_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "decision": "restricted_merchant",
    "input": { "merchant": "LUCKY COINS LLC", "mcc": "5816" },
    "abstainBelow": 0.6
  }'
    const base = process.env.UNDERSTANDING_API_URL;
const key = process.env.UNDERSTANDING_API_KEY;

const body = {
  decision: "restricted_merchant",
  input: { merchant: "LUCKY COINS LLC", mcc: "5816" },
  abstainBelow: 0.6,
};

const res = await fetch(`${base}/v1/understand`, {
  method: "POST",
  headers: {
    Authorization: `Bearer ${key}`,
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
  },
  body: JSON.stringify(body),
});
const result = await res.json();
    import os
import requests

base = os.environ["UNDERSTANDING_API_URL"]
key = os.environ["UNDERSTANDING_API_KEY"]

body = {
    "decision": "restricted_merchant",
    "input": {"merchant": "LUCKY COINS LLC", "mcc": "5816"},
    "abstainBelow": 0.6,
}

res = requests.post(
    f"{base}/v1/understand",
    headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {key}"},
    json=body,
    timeout=10,
)
result = res.json()
    Response

    200 OKStand-in probability1

    {
  "decision": "restricted_merchant",
  "type": "predicate",
  "answer": true,
  "probability": 0.62,
  "reasons": ["mcc_5816", "kind_sweepstakes_casino"],
  "abstain": false
}

    Choosing a line

    A higher line sends more cases to people. Measure your own abstain rate on your own traffic before you lower it.

    Note. Probabilities are the model’s own; they aren’t calibrated yet. We make no claim about accuracy or abstain rates at any line.

    Planned: rule conflicts

    When a gambling category code is answered “not gambling”, abstain with rule_differs. The switch exists in the code and is off until we decide; today the answer comes back as the model gave it.