Structured Output
AI responses formatted in consistent data structures like JSON for programmatic processing.
Definition
Structured output constrains AI responses to follow specific formats—typically JSON schemas—ensuring consistent, parseable outputs for downstream processing. This bridges the gap between natural language AI and systems requiring structured data.
Without structured output, developers must write fragile parsing code to extract information from variable prose.
Why It Matters
Structured output makes AI outputs reliable enough for automated workflows. Systems can confidently process AI responses without human review of formatting.
This capability enables AI integration into data pipelines, APIs, and enterprise systems.
Examples in Practice
An extraction pipeline uses structured output to reliably pull entities from documents into a database.
A product catalog system requests JSON-formatted product attributes, eliminating manual data formatting.
An API layer validates AI responses against JSON schemas before passing data to downstream services.