Similarity checker

Question

When trying to use my similarity check, I get an error notification something went wrong, why?

Answer 1

I've been seeing this error in desktop Word from Microsoft 365 for several months, and it came and went several times last year. It hasn't been fixed by any of the updates, including the one released this week. Running word in safe mode doesn't change the behavior.

The symptom could be explained by either of these possibilities: the server(s) that should do the similarity check aren't running, or the address that Word calls to connect to the server(s) is incorrect.

[Unrelated comment: The similarity checker isn't very reliable when it is working. As a test, I pasted the text of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address into a blank document and ran the similarity checker. It noticed that two of the sentences were from the Address, but it didn't say anything about any other part of it.]

Answer 2

I am assuming you are using the desktop application. Is that correct?

Does it work if you start Word in safe mode?
https://support.office.com/article/dedf944a-5f4b-4afb-a453-528af4f7ac72

(This is a diagnostic step, not a long-term way to use Word.)

If it is still a problem in safe mode, consider running an online repair.
https://support.office.com/article/7821d4b6-7c1d-4205-aa0e-a6b40c5bb88b