# Clarify the decision before the board deliberates.

> LLM Peers’s optional intake step asks clarifying questions so goals, constraints, and success criteria are clear before multi-model research begins.

Canonical HTML: https://llmpeers.com/features/intake

Vague questions produce vague research. Optional intake uses a lightweight Q&A step—single choice, multi choice, or short text—to enrich the query before the AI Council runs. You can answer or skip when the brief is already sharp, so clarification never becomes a mandatory form.

## What clarifying intake does

Intake is an optional front door to deliberation. A lightweight model asks focused clarifying questions about goals, constraints, stakeholders, and success criteria. Answers are woven into the enriched brief that multi-model research uses—so the council investigates the decision you actually face.

## Why clarification before research matters

Most AI failures on hard decisions start with an underspecified question. Without shared success criteria, models invent different interpretations and you spend the run reconciling scope instead of options. Intake reduces that waste by making the brief explicit up front.

## When to use intake—and when to skip

Use intake on first messages and ambiguous decisions where stakeholders disagree about what “good” looks like. Skip when you already have a sharp brief, a documented RFP-style question, or a well-scoped follow-up in an existing research thread.

1. **Surface missing context** — Short clarifying sets highlight goals, constraints, timelines, and success criteria that were implicit in the original question.
2. **Answer or skip** — Respond with single choice, multi choice, or short text—or skip when you already know the brief is complete enough to run.
3. **Enrich the council brief** — Answers update the query so independent multi-model research starts from a sharper, shared interpretation of the decision.
4. **Proceed into deliberation** — After intake, the run continues through web research (when enabled), AI Council, peer ranking, and the chairman decision brief.

### Is intake required on every research run?

No. Intake is optional. When clarifying questions would help, LLM Peers may offer a short set; you can answer or skip and continue into the council.

### How many clarifying questions will I get?

Intake stays focused—short clarifying sets rather than endless forms—so you spend minutes sharpening scope, not filling a questionnaire.

### Does intake replace writing a good question?

No. A clear question still helps. Intake catches common gaps—constraints, success criteria, stakeholders—so multi-model deliberation is aimed at the right decision.

### Continue the journey
- [How it works](https://llmpeers.com/how-it-works): Intake in the full deliberation path
- [AI Council](https://llmpeers.com/features/ai-council): What happens after clarification
- [Decision brief](https://llmpeers.com/features/decision-brief): The artifact intake ultimately supports
- [FAQ](https://llmpeers.com/faq): Common questions about the workflow

## Related pages

- [Methodology](https://llmpeers.com/methodology)
- [What is LLM Peers?](https://llmpeers.com/what-is-llm-peers)
- [How it works](https://llmpeers.com/how-it-works)
- [AI Council](https://llmpeers.com/features/ai-council)

---

Publisher: Version Labs · Product: LLM Peers