# AIP002 — ambiguous-output-format
**Category:** clarity **Severity:** warning
## What
Detects requests for structured output formats (JSON, XML, YAML, CSV) without providing a schema or example.
## Why it matters
Without a concrete example or schema, models must guess the structure, leading to inconsistent or incorrect formatting.
## Example
```
Return your answer in JSON.
```
The model doesn't know what keys or structure you expect.
## Fix
Provide an example or schema. Use a code fence, JSON literal, or natural language schema:
```json
{
"answer": "...",
"confidence": 0.95
}
```
Or: `Response format: {answer: string, confidence: number}`