# Profound: Sonnet 5.5 asks for context 5x more than Sonnet 5

Published: 2026-10-13T20:21:52.722Z · Source: Profound research blog (https://www.tryprofound.com/blog/what-s-changed-with-sonnet-5-5)
Source date: 2026-10-13
Flags: Profound study — vendor-published
Entities: anthropic, profound

Profound ran 711 prompts through Anthropic's API 20 times each on Claude Sonnet 5 and Sonnet 5.5 with web search enabled — 28,440 answers total — and found Sonnet 5.5 asked readers for context (details about their specific situation) in 60.6% of answers, against 12.5% for Sonnet 5. Sonnet 5.5 also named the current year in 59% of its query fan-outs, more than double Sonnet 5's rate, and its most-cited pages skewed newer, with a median age of 107 days against 164 days for Sonnet 5. Per Profound, both models carried roughly 12 inline citations per searched answer.

Why it matters: The shift toward more context-seeking and fresher sources suggests AEO content that states dates clearly and speaks to a reader's specific situation is more likely to be used by newer models.

## What this answers

**Does Claude Sonnet 5.5 ask more clarifying questions than Sonnet 5?**

Yes — per Profound's analysis of 28,440 answers, Sonnet 5.5 asked readers for context in 60.6% of answers, versus 12.5% for Sonnet 5.

**Does Claude Sonnet 5.5 cite fresher web pages than Sonnet 5?**

Yes — Profound found Sonnet 5.5's most-cited pages have a median age of 107 days, versus 164 days for Sonnet 5, with its top 1% of cited pages at 76 days.


Canonical: https://anythingengineoptimization.com/item/2026-10-13-profound-sonnet-5-5-asks-for-context-5x-more-than-sonnet-5/
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