What steps should I take if the outputs from Bedrock are consistently poor quality or irrelevant to the prompts I'm providing?

If the outputs from Bedrock are consistently poor or irrelevant, start by refining your prompts and validating their clarity. Bedrock’s performance heavily depends on how well the input prompt is structured. For example, vague prompts like “Explain cloud computing” may yield generic results, while a specific prompt like “List three AWS services for real-time data processing, and describe their use cases in healthcare” provides clear direction. Test variations of your prompts to identify which phrasing or structure produces better results. If you’re using a model like Claude or Jurassic-2, check the documentation for recommended prompt formats, such as including examples or explicit instructions (e.g., “Answer in bullet points” or “Avoid technical jargon”). Tools like prompt chaining—breaking complex tasks into smaller, sequential prompts—can also improve output quality by guiding the model step-by-step.

Next, adjust the model parameters and experiment with different models. Bedrock offers multiple foundation models, each with unique strengths. For instance, Claude might excel at reasoning tasks, while Titan could be better for text summarization. Test alternative models to see if they align better with your use case. Additionally, parameters like temperature (which controls randomness) and max_tokens (which limits response length) significantly impact output quality. A high temperature value (e.g., 0.8) might lead to creative but unfocused responses, while a lower value (e.g., 0.2) can make outputs more deterministic. If responses are cut off, increase max_tokens. For example, setting max_tokens=500 instead of 200 ensures the model has enough space to provide a complete answer. Logging and analyzing these parameter adjustments in tools like Amazon CloudWatch can help identify patterns.

Finally, validate your data and implementation. If you’re fine-tuning a model, ensure your training data is relevant and properly formatted. For example, a chatbot trained on customer service logs should include diverse, real-world queries and responses. Check for biases or gaps in the data that might cause the model to generalize poorly. If using the API, verify that pre- or post-processing steps (like trimming special characters or filtering responses) aren’t introducing errors. For instance, a script that removes markdown formatting might accidentally delete critical parts of the output. Additionally, monitor Bedrock’s service health via the AWS Health Dashboard to rule out outages. If all else fails, reach out to AWS Support with specific examples of prompts, parameters, and unexpected outputs to troubleshoot further.