What is a DEL Score?
Direct answer
The DEL Score — Decision Eligibility Level — is a 0–100 number summarising the evidence behind a proposed action: validation pass rate, evidence completeness and verification weight. Below the platform floor of DEL ≥ 80.0 the action is refused outright; above it, authority grows with the margin and saturates at a cap. Floors can only be raised. Capability label: [PARTIAL].
The idea in one line
Authority should be a function of evidence, deterministic, and flat zero below a floor. The canonical form is a clipped rectified-linear function per action class c:
authority_c = min(cap_c, max(0, DEL_score − threshold_c))- Flat zero below the threshold — deterministic denial. No partial execution, no probabilistic leakage. A refused proposal goes to a human with its reasoning path and a smaller alternative.
- Margin-proportional above it — a barely-cleared score earns only the smallest reversible version of the action.
- Saturation at the cap — the covenant cap bounds authority regardless of margin.
- Guardrail envelopes shift the threshold up under volatility; they never lower a floor.
Where the score comes from
The shipped policy engine computes the score from three inputs the ValidationPassport and the evidence bundle supply — the validation pass rate, evidence completeness and verification weight — as a weighted average scaled to 0–100, then compares it to the domain's threshold, which defaults to the platform floor of 80.0. Domains may set a higher bar (several run at 90); a conformance check fails the build if any domain's threshold sits below the floor. The Decision Control Plane signs the resulting authorisation.
Why floors are not merchant-configurable downward
Merchants may raise thresholds and tighten caps through their covenant; they may never lower them below platform floors. The reasoning is the same one that keeps promotion gates fixed (see Brier and AUC promotion gates): safety that can be dialled down under quarter-end pressure is not safety.
The pressure is real. Marketing budgets averaged 7.7% of company revenue in 2024, down from 9.1% in 2023 (Gartner CMO Spend Survey, May 2024), and held at 7.7% in 2025 (Gartner CMO Spend Survey, May 2025), while US internet advertising revenue reached $258.6B in 2024, up 14.9% (IAB / PwC, Apr 2025). A rule that lets a thin evidence base authorise a large action is how a flat budget buys attribution instead of revenue. Add returns — 19.3% of online sales are expected to be returned in 2025 (NRF / Happy Returns, Oct 2025) — and the case for an evidence floor that includes net-yield inputs writes itself. And as traditional search engine volume is forecast to fall 25% by 2026 (Gartner, Feb 2024), the evidence behind any search-side action will be thinner, not thicker.
What is shipped today — honestly
- [PARTIAL] The score, the 80.0 floor, per-domain raise-only thresholds, the conformance check and signed authorisation are built and deployed.
- [PARTIAL] The shipped formula is a weighted linear average; the canonical description is the clipped-ReLU authority function above. The concept — threshold-gated, margin-proportional authority — is present in code; the activation-function shape differs, and the gap is recorded in the coverage matrix as a build item.
- [ROADMAP] Per-action-class parameterisation (a distinct threshold and cap per class) remains to be built; today the threshold is per domain.
- No DEL value on this page is a customer result; the worked narrative the platform uses to illustrate a DEL below the floor is labelled an illustrative scenario wherever it appears.
FAQ
What is a good DEL Score?
Any score at or above the platform floor of 80.0 is eligible; higher margin earns proportionally more authority up to the class cap. Below 80.0 the action is refused, and no configuration can change that floor downward.
Can two identical proposals get different DEL Scores?
No. The score is a deterministic function of the passport pass rate, evidence completeness and verification weight. Same inputs, same score, same decision.
Does a high DEL Score mean the action will work?
No. DEL measures how much validated evidence stands behind an action, not its outcome. Whether it worked is measured afterwards against a registered holdout and recorded in the causal credit ledger.