# Is outcome verification the same as observability?

> Observability shows what your system did. Outcome verification decides whether the provider reached the promised state. They answer two questions.

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

**No. Observability records what your system did: traces, logs, metrics. Outcome verification reads the external system and decides whether the promised outcome happened. A trace shows a 200 response for a refund that never settled.**

| Aspect | Observability | Outcome verification |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Question | What happened inside my system? | Did the promised outcome happen in the external system? |
| Evidence | Your own spans, logs, metrics | Provider readback, provider events, independent systems (E2 to E5) |
| Unit | A request, a span | An operation against a completion contract |
| Result | A dashboard, an alert | A verdict and a signed receipt |
| Gate | None. It observes | Yes. An agent cannot say "done" without VERIFIED |
| Pre-existing state | Not a concern | Must not verify. Correlation is mandatory |

## When is observability the right tool?

Use observability for latency, errors, and the path a request took through your services. 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 I build verification from my traces?

A trace records your side of the call. It cannot record that Stripe moved the money four seconds later. Verification needs a provider readback or event, correlated to the operation.

### Does Provely replace my observability stack?

No. Provely emits request ids, structured logs, and spans into your stack. It adds the verdict, which observability never produces.

## Read next

- [Read: Is outcome verification the same as LLM evaluation?](https://provely.sh/compare/verification-vs-evaluation)
- [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)