diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 124af7e..780086a 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -337,7 +337,7 @@ jobs:
 |--------|-------------|
 | `total-loc` | Total lines of code in the PR diff |
 | `total-groups` | Number of suggested groups |
-| `objective` | Plan objective score (lower is better) |
+| `objective` | Simplified plan score, `overflow × 1000 + file_scatter × 50 + groups` (lower is better; `0` when no split plan was scored; not the full `score_plan` objective described in METHODOLOGY.md) |
 | `should-split` | Whether the PR should be split (`true`/`false`) |
 
 ## Planning backends
diff --git a/action.yml b/action.yml
index 6ff063f..653352b 100644
--- a/action.yml
+++ b/action.yml
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ outputs:
     description: "Number of suggested groups"
     value: ${{ steps.score.outputs.total_groups }}
   objective:
-    description: "Plan objective score (lower is better)"
+    description: "Simplified plan score: overflow*1000 + file_scatter*50 + groups (lower is better; 0 when no split plan was scored)"
     value: ${{ steps.score.outputs.objective }}
   should-split:
     description: "Whether the PR should be split (true/false)"