> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://assemblyai.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# How do Content Moderation severity scores work?

AssemblyAI's content moderation API implements a context-aware severity scoring system that helps developers build more intelligent content filtering solutions. This guide examines how the severity parameter works through practical examples.

## Severity Score Structure

The API returns severity scores across three levels for each detected label:

```plaintext theme={null}
"severity_score_summary": {
    "label_name": {
        "low": float,    // 0-1
        "medium": float, // 0-1
        "high": float    // 0-1
    }
}
```

Please refer to our API Reference for Content Moderation for the full response.

The scores represent probability distributions across severity levels, always summing to 1.0.

### Case Study: Contextual Analysis of Alcohol References:

To demonstrate how the system evaluates context, let's analyze three different transcripts discussing alcohol:

**Educational Context**

**Source**: What Are Alcohols? | Organic Chemistry ([full transcript + audio](https://www.assemblyai.com/playground/transcript/fdf06be8-b480-4686-9d92-6fe2d7ce2753))

```
"severity_score_summary": {
    "alcohol": {
        "low": 1.0,
        "medium": 0,
        "high": 0
    }
}
```

The system identifies the educational context, assigning maximum low severity despite explicit alcohol-related terminology.

**Social Context**

**Source**: How I Learned To Go To A Bar Alone And Meet Women ([full transcript + audio](https://www.assemblyai.com/playground/transcript/da4e4612-240e-499b-a8c9-4f14ef4064b2))

```
"severity_score_summary": {
    "alcohol": {
        "low": 0.55243415,
        "medium": 0.44756585,
        "high": 0
    }
}
```

References to bars and casual drinking split the probability between low and medium severity levels.

**Substance Abuse Context**

**Source**: Steve-O: I'm grateful my alcoholism was severe ([full transcript + audio](https://www.assemblyai.com/playground/transcript/aedd18f2-515a-4882-bf8f-d29e78d98b65))

```
"severity_score_summary": {
    "alcohol": {
        "medium": 0.22141029,
        "high": 0.7785897,
        "low": 0
    }
}
```

Discussion of addiction and abuse triggers high severity scores, reflecting potentially sensitive content.

### Conclusion

The severity scoring system provides a sophisticated way to understand not just what topics are mentioned, but how they're discussed. Each severity level (low, medium, high) represents a probability score between 0 and 1, allowing developers to implement precise content filtering based on their specific needs. For example, developers can set custom thresholds for content classification (e.g., flagging content with high severity > 0.7) or create tiered content ratings based on severity distributions. This granular approach to content moderation enables more accurate and context-aware content filtering systems.