AI Parameters & Settings
What is Temperature?
Temperature is an AI parameter that controls creativity and randomness on a 0-2 scale. Lower temperatures (0-0.3) produce predictable, focused responses. Higher temperatures (0.7-1.0+) produce creative, varied outputs.
Understanding Temperature
Think of temperature as a creativity dial. When AI generates text, it calculates probabilities for every possible next word. Temperature controls how it selects from those probabilities.
At temperature 0, AI always picks the most probable word—like a conservative employee who gives the safest answer. At temperature 1.0+, AI considers less likely options—like a creative brainstormer who might say something unexpected.
For real estate content, this matters. Need a consistent, professional email response? Low temperature. Need creative headline options for a listing? Higher temperature. The right setting depends on whether you want predictability or variety.
The Temperature Scale
Most predictable outputs. Same prompt produces nearly identical results.
Best for: Factual content, contracts, legal language, technical documentation, data analysis
Good balance of consistency and natural variation. Most common default.
Best for: Listing descriptions, client emails, blog posts, general content
More varied, creative outputs. Good for brainstorming and ideation.
Best for: Marketing headlines, social media posts, creative taglines, brainstorming
Increasingly random. May produce nonsensical or incoherent outputs.
Best for: Rarely useful in practice. Experimental only.
Temperature for Real Estate Tasks
Listing Descriptions
Temperature: 0.5-0.7
Balanced—consistent structure with natural language variation
Client Emails
Temperature: 0.3-0.5
Professional, predictable tone without surprises
Social Media Captions
Temperature: 0.7-0.9
More creative, engaging, varied content
Market Analysis
Temperature: 0.2-0.4
Factual, consistent, reduced hallucination risk
Headline Brainstorming
Temperature: 0.8-1.0
Generate many varied options to choose from
Contract Summaries
Temperature: 0.1-0.2
Maximum accuracy, zero creative interpretation
Rule of Thumb: When accuracy matters more than creativity, go lower. When you want variety and are willing to curate results, go higher.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I change temperature in ChatGPT?
The standard ChatGPT interface uses a fixed temperature (around 0.7) without user control. To adjust temperature, you need: ChatGPT API access, Custom GPTs (which let you set temperature), or prompt techniques that influence randomness (like "give me 5 different options" vs "give me the best option").
Does higher temperature mean better creativity?
Not necessarily. Higher temperature means more randomness, which can produce creative outputs—or nonsense. There's a sweet spot (usually 0.7-0.9) where you get variety without incoherence. Beyond 1.0, outputs often become unreliable.
Does temperature affect hallucinations?
Yes. Higher temperatures increase hallucination risk because the AI is more likely to select unlikely (and potentially incorrect) word choices. For factual content, lower temperatures reduce (but don't eliminate) hallucination risk.
What's the default temperature?
Most AI interfaces default to around 0.7-1.0. ChatGPT's default is approximately 0.7. Claude's default varies by context. These defaults balance coherence with natural language variation for general-purpose use.
Sources & Further Reading
Master AI Parameters
Learn when to use different temperature settings and other AI parameters for optimal real estate content.
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