# Is outcome verification the same as LLM evaluation?

> LLM evaluation scores a model output against a rubric or a judge. Outcome verification reads the real state after a side effect. A judge is no proof.

Canonical: https://provely.sh/compare/verification-vs-evaluation  
Last reviewed: 2026-09-05  

**No. LLM evaluation scores a model output against a rubric, a dataset, or a judge model. Outcome verification reads the real system after a side effect and decides whether the outcome happened. LLM judgement is never completion evidence.**

| Aspect | LLM evaluation | Outcome verification |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Question | Is the output good? | Did the action reach the promised state? |
| Evidence | Text, a rubric, a judge model | Provider state, correlated to the operation |
| Time | Before or after a run, offline | After each action, in production |
| Result | A score | A verdict and a signed receipt |
| Trust in the model | The judge is a model | A model report is E0 and never sufficient |
| Failure it catches | A bad answer | A false completion claim |

## When is LLM evaluation the right tool?

Use LLM evaluation for answer quality, tone, and regression testing of prompts. Use outcome verification when an agent makes a side-effecting call and must not say "done" until the provider proves it.

## Questions developers ask

### Can an LLM judge decide that a refund succeeded?

No. A judge reads text. The refund state lives in Stripe. Provely reads Stripe with a read-only credential and compares the state with the contract.

### Does the Integration Compiler use an LLM?

Yes, for semantic analysis and contract synthesis, bounded by provenance and conformance gates. Every semantic claim cites a source. The runtime uses no LLM.

## Read next

- [Read: Is outcome verification the same as observability?](https://provely.sh/compare/verification-vs-observability)
- [Read: Is outcome verification the same as testing?](https://provely.sh/compare/verification-vs-testing)
- [Read how Provely works](https://provely.sh/how-it-works)
- [See every comparison](https://provely.sh/compare)