Multiple Choice and Classification

You can ask Claude to classify inputs as follows.

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Future development

We will probably offer a simpler “multiple choice endpoint” in the future.

Claude is a conversational agent, so often it will explain at length why it selected a given option. If you just want a fast multiple-choice answer and no explanation, you can use the "Human:"/"Assistant:" formatting in the API to put words in Claude's mouth and have Claude respond in a particular way.

For example, if the available options start with (, you can end your prompt with "Assistant: My answer is (". That way you can immediately get a response in the first token.

Human: You are a customer service agent that is classifying emails by type.

Email:
<email>
Hi -- My Mixmaster4000 is producing a strange noise when I operate it. It also smells a bit smoky and plasticky, like burning electronics.  I need a replacement.
</email>

Categories are:
(A) Pre-sale question
(B) Broken or defective item
(C) Billing question
(D) Other (please explain)

Assistant: My answer is (

B) Broken or defective item