How we use AI

At Crossword Clues, artificial intelligence is a core part of how we build helpful tools for puzzle lovers. We want to be completely transparent about where we use it, where it works well, and where it occasionally falls short.

What we use AI for

We rely on advanced Large Language Models (LLMs) in two main areas:

• The clue solver: When you search for a clue on our homepage, an AI analyzes the semantic meaning of the clue to suggest potential answers, along with brief explanations.
• The daily crossword: The clues in our original daily puzzles are written with the assistance of an LLM to ensure they are clever, accurate, and properly difficulty-calibrated.

The honest caveat

Artificial intelligence is fundamentally non-deterministic, which means it can be unpredictable. While it is highly capable, it doesn't "know" facts the way a traditional database does. This means that solver hints can occasionally be wrong, and generated clues can sometimes be misleading—even when the AI presents them with high confidence.

How we mitigate errors

We've put several safeguards in place to ensure a high-quality experience:

• Answer caching: We permanently cache the best, verified answers for common clues to prevent the AI from generating new, potentially hallucinated answers each time.
• Grid-generation guarantees: The crossword grid itself is built using a custom algorithmic approach. We guarantee that every puzzle is valid and 100% solvable.
• Ongoing review: We regularly monitor and review the quality of generated clues and answers to improve our prompts and pipelines over time.

Advice to solvers

We recommend treating our AI-generated answers as helpful suggestions rather than absolute facts. Always double-check potential answers against the crossing letters in your grid before writing them in.

Feedback

Spotted a bad clue or a glaringly wrong solver answer? We'd love to hear from you. Let us know via the contact page so we can investigate and fix it.