How to Use LLMs for Powerful Automatic Evaluations

Large Language Models can be utilized as an automated "judge" to evaluate the quality of outputs from other systems, which can significantly streamline the development and deployment process. This method, known as LLM-as-a-Judge, involves prompting an LLM to assess system performance using techniques like comparing two outputs, assigning a numerical score, or giving a simple pass/fail verdict. The effectiveness of the LLM judge heavily relies on providing clear instructions and illustrative examples, similar to few-shot learning. Important considerations for implementation include validating the automated judgments against human evaluators to ensure reliability and managing the potential costs associated with frequent API calls.