Why does the Standard searches metric show a negative value in Analytics?

Question

Why does the Standard searches metric show a negative value in Analytics or Explore?

Answer

In some edge cases, the Standard searches metric can show a negative value because Quick answer searches are greater than Searches.

This happens when multiple generative answer prediction events share the same search ID. In those cases, Zendesk may count more than one quick answer event for a single search event. Because Standard searches is calculated as Searches - Quick answer searches, the result can be negative. This behavior is expected in these edge cases.

What alternative can I use to the Standard searches metric?

For a clearer analysis:

Report on Searches and Quick Answer Searches as separate metrics when this distinction is important.

Standard Searches may be harder to interpret in edge cases where negative values display.

For more information about reporting on user session, see: Analyzing user session and page efficiency activity in the help center.