Exploitation is one way Evolv AI maximizes performance by promoting the ideas that can have the greatest overall impact.
On this page:
How exploitation works
During the Optimization phase, Evolv tests combinations to explore better experiences.
Each project has a maximum number of concurrent combinations it can support testing at one time during the Optimization phase. This number is determined dynamically by the system or by the number of variants tested during the Initialization phase.
When is an exploitation combination created?
An exploitation combination is created when the number of available combinations to test is less than the number of concurrent combinations supported by the project.
When this occurs, the system will generate a copy of the top-performing combination and send the remaining traffic to it. Only one exploitation combination is active at any time.
As the top-performing combination changes, so will the exploitation combination as long as traffic is available.
The exploitation combination is removed when the number of active combinations reaches the maximum number allowed.
How to identify an exploitation combination
- Open the Evolv AI Manager.
- Open a project and go to the Combinations page.
- Click on the gear icon next to the variant dropdown.
- Select the Show combination details checkbox.
- Look for combinations that contain Strategy: Exploitation.
FAQ
What is the benefit of exploitation?
To maximize performance while waiting for new ideas to be added to the system and to maintain statistical robustness.
Why aren't there enough combinations to test?
There are various reasons why an optimization doesn't have enough combinations available to test at a given time.
- The number of possible combinations created by active variants is less than the number of concurrent combinations the system can support.
- If you selected the Computed Size option when the project was launched, the system might determine the project can support many more combinations than can be generated from the active variants.
- It's less than two weeks since a combination was last tested.
- The system retries old combinations two weeks after they were deactivated.
- There are constraints on the number of new variants that can be initialized simultaneously.
- Only 20% of combinations can be used to initialize new variants in 'isolation' combinations.
- Multiple variants added to the same variable must all be initialized separately before they can be combined with other variants.
Can I turn off exploitation?
No, but you can minimize the likelihood that an exploitation combination will be generated by selecting ‘Fixed Size’ when starting a new project or adding more variants.
Why are there suddenly more combinations than before?
New variants might have been added to the project, or old variants are ready to be retried.
Why is the exploitation combination the same as Control?
At the beginning of the Optimization phase, if the number of possible combinations is less than the number of concurrent combinations the system can support, AND no combinations have received sufficient traffic for consistent results, then the system will exploit the Control combination to minimize the risk of exploiting a combination with a greater potential for inconsistent results.
How often is the system updating the exploitation combination?
The system makes decisions as it processes performance data about every hour.
The exploitation combo will change if another combination becomes the top performer.
The amount of traffic the exploitation combo receives will change as new variants are added or past combinations are retested.
Are exploitation combinations included in the data?
Yes. All combinations are included in the overall data and realized performance.