My AI model started giving nonsense answers during a client demo

I was presenting a new text analysis tool to a marketing firm in Chicago last Tuesday. The model suddenly started outputting random strings of characters instead of sentiment scores. I had to quickly switch to a backup API endpoint I had set up, which saved the meeting. Has anyone else had a live demo go sideways and have a good recovery plan?

2 comments

2 Comments

james_ross2d ago

Honestly, calling that a "good recovery plan" feels off to me. Having a backup API is just basic prep, not some genius save. Tbh if your model spits out random junk in a demo, the real problem is your testing was weak. You got lucky the backup worked, but that doesn't fix why the main one failed so badly.

harper2542d ago

Chicago's a tough market for demos, I've had my share of glitches there. Having a backup ready isn't just basic prep, it's the smart move that shows you planned for real world problems. Testing can't catch every weird edge case once you're live. The fact you had a working fallback is what clients remember, not the initial hiccup.