diff --git a/common/constants.ts b/common/constants.ts
index 74ec6cdf..07e7ad5e 100644
--- a/common/constants.ts
+++ b/common/constants.ts
@@ -476,7 +476,7 @@ export const ERROR_GETTING_WORKFLOW_MSG = 'Failed to retrieve template';
 export const NO_TEMPLATES_FOUND_MSG = 'There are no templates';
 export const NO_MODIFICATIONS_FOUND_TEXT =
   'Template does not contain any modifications';
-export const JSONPATH_ROOT_SELECTOR = '$.';
+export const JSONPATH_ROOT_SELECTOR = '$';
 export enum SORT_ORDER {
   ASC = 'asc',
   DESC = 'desc',
diff --git a/public/pages/workflow_detail/workflow_inputs/input_fields/map_array_field.tsx b/public/pages/workflow_detail/workflow_inputs/input_fields/map_array_field.tsx
index 6e935f6f..3a50e20e 100644
--- a/public/pages/workflow_detail/workflow_inputs/input_fields/map_array_field.tsx
+++ b/public/pages/workflow_detail/workflow_inputs/input_fields/map_array_field.tsx
@@ -26,11 +26,12 @@ import { MapField } from './map_field';
 
 interface MapArrayFieldProps {
   fieldPath: string; // the full path in string-form to the field (e.g., 'ingest.enrich.processors.text_embedding_processor.inputField')
-  helpText?: string;
   keyTitle?: string;
   keyPlaceholder?: string;
+  keyHelpText?: string;
   valueTitle?: string;
   valuePlaceholder?: string;
+  valueHelpText?: string;
   onMapAdd?: (curArray: MapArrayFormValue) => void;
   onMapDelete?: (idxToDelete: number) => void;
   keyOptions?: { label: string }[];
@@ -123,11 +124,12 @@ export function MapArrayField(props: MapArrayFieldProps) {
                           <EuiPanel grow={true}>
                             <MapField
                               fieldPath={`${props.fieldPath}.${idx}`}
-                              helpText={props.helpText}
                               keyTitle={props.keyTitle}
                               keyPlaceholder={props.keyPlaceholder}
+                              keyHelpText={props.keyHelpText}
                               valueTitle={props.valueTitle}
                               valuePlaceholder={props.valuePlaceholder}
+                              valueHelpText={props.valueHelpText}
                               keyOptions={props.keyOptions}
                               valueOptions={props.valueOptions}
                               addEntryButtonText={props.addMapEntryButtonText}
@@ -144,13 +146,14 @@ export function MapArrayField(props: MapArrayFieldProps) {
                   <EuiPanel grow={true}>
                     <MapField
                       fieldPath={`${props.fieldPath}.0`}
-                      helpText={props.helpText}
                       keyTitle={props.keyTitle}
                       keyPlaceholder={props.keyPlaceholder}
+                      keyHelpText={props.keyHelpText}
                       valueTitle={props.valueTitle}
                       valuePlaceholder={props.valuePlaceholder}
                       keyOptions={props.keyOptions}
                       valueOptions={props.valueOptions}
+                      valueHelpText={props.valueHelpText}
                       addEntryButtonText={props.addMapEntryButtonText}
                       mappingDirection={props.mappingDirection}
                     />
diff --git a/public/pages/workflow_detail/workflow_inputs/input_fields/map_field.tsx b/public/pages/workflow_detail/workflow_inputs/input_fields/map_field.tsx
index fbc545ea..784823dd 100644
--- a/public/pages/workflow_detail/workflow_inputs/input_fields/map_field.tsx
+++ b/public/pages/workflow_detail/workflow_inputs/input_fields/map_field.tsx
@@ -29,11 +29,12 @@ interface MapFieldProps {
   fieldPath: string; // the full path in string-form to the field (e.g., 'ingest.enrich.processors.text_embedding_processor.inputField')
   label?: string;
   helpLink?: string;
-  helpText?: string;
   keyTitle?: string;
   keyPlaceholder?: string;
+  keyHelpText?: string;
   valueTitle?: string;
   valuePlaceholder?: string;
+  valueHelpText?: string;
   keyOptions?: { label: string }[];
   valueOptions?: { label: string }[];
   addEntryButtonText?: string;
@@ -111,9 +112,21 @@ export function MapField(props: MapFieldProps) {
               <EuiFlexItem style={{ marginBottom: '0px' }}>
                 <EuiFlexGroup direction="row" gutterSize="xs">
                   <EuiFlexItem grow={KEY_FLEX_RATIO}>
-                    <EuiText size="s" color="subdued">
-                      {props.keyTitle || 'Key'}
-                    </EuiText>
+                    <EuiFlexGroup direction="row" gutterSize="xs">
+                      <EuiFlexItem grow={false}>
+                        <EuiText size="s" color="subdued">
+                          {props.keyTitle || 'Key'}
+                        </EuiText>
+                      </EuiFlexItem>
+                      {props.keyHelpText && (
+                        <EuiFlexItem grow={false}>
+                          <EuiIconTip
+                            content={props.keyHelpText}
+                            position="right"
+                          />
+                        </EuiFlexItem>
+                      )}
+                    </EuiFlexGroup>
                   </EuiFlexItem>
                   <EuiFlexItem grow={VALUE_FLEX_RATIO}>
                     <EuiFlexGroup direction="row" gutterSize="xs">
@@ -122,10 +135,10 @@ export function MapField(props: MapFieldProps) {
                           {props.valueTitle || 'Value'}
                         </EuiText>
                       </EuiFlexItem>
-                      {props.helpText && (
+                      {props.valueHelpText && (
                         <EuiFlexItem grow={false}>
                           <EuiIconTip
-                            content={props.helpText}
+                            content={props.valueHelpText}
                             position="right"
                           />
                         </EuiFlexItem>
diff --git a/public/pages/workflow_detail/workflow_inputs/processor_inputs/ml_processor_inputs.tsx b/public/pages/workflow_detail/workflow_inputs/processor_inputs/ml_processor_inputs.tsx
index a5ce285e..e12e4dd9 100644
--- a/public/pages/workflow_detail/workflow_inputs/processor_inputs/ml_processor_inputs.tsx
+++ b/public/pages/workflow_detail/workflow_inputs/processor_inputs/ml_processor_inputs.tsx
@@ -378,8 +378,6 @@ export function MLProcessorInputs(props: MLProcessorInputsProps) {
           <EuiSpacer size="s" />
           <MapArrayField
             fieldPath={inputMapFieldPath}
-            helpText={`An array specifying how to map fields from the ingested document to the model’s input. Dot notation is used by default. To explicitly use JSONPath, please ensure to prepend with the
-            root object selector "${JSONPATH_ROOT_SELECTOR}"`}
             keyTitle="Name"
             keyPlaceholder="Name"
             keyOptions={parseModelInputs(modelInterface)}
@@ -393,6 +391,7 @@ export function MLProcessorInputs(props: MLProcessorInputsProps) {
                 ? 'Specify a query field'
                 : 'Define a document field'
             }
+            valueHelpText={`Specify a document field or define JSONPath to transform the document to map to a model input field.`}
             valueOptions={
               props.context === PROCESSOR_CONTEXT.INGEST
                 ? docFields
@@ -435,10 +434,9 @@ export function MLProcessorInputs(props: MLProcessorInputsProps) {
           <EuiSpacer size="s" />
           <MapArrayField
             fieldPath={outputMapFieldPath}
-            helpText={`An array specifying how to map the model’s output to new document fields. Dot notation is used by default. To explicitly use JSONPath, please ensure to prepend with the
-            root object selector "${JSONPATH_ROOT_SELECTOR}"`}
             keyTitle="Name"
             keyPlaceholder="Name"
+            keyHelpText={`Specify a model output field or define JSONPath to transform the model output to map to a new document field.`}
             keyOptions={
               fullResponsePath
                 ? undefined
diff --git a/public/pages/workflow_detail/workflow_inputs/processor_inputs/modals/input_transform_modal.tsx b/public/pages/workflow_detail/workflow_inputs/processor_inputs/modals/input_transform_modal.tsx
index b595f2a1..24218ac8 100644
--- a/public/pages/workflow_detail/workflow_inputs/processor_inputs/modals/input_transform_modal.tsx
+++ b/public/pages/workflow_detail/workflow_inputs/processor_inputs/modals/input_transform_modal.tsx
@@ -37,7 +37,6 @@ import {
   IngestPipelineConfig,
   InputTransformFormValues,
   InputTransformSchema,
-  JSONPATH_ROOT_SELECTOR,
   MapArrayFormValue,
   ModelInterface,
   PROCESSOR_CONTEXT,
@@ -291,8 +290,6 @@ export function InputTransformModal(props: InputTransformModalProps) {
         const InputMap = (
           <MapArrayField
             fieldPath={'input_map'}
-            helpText={`An array specifying how to map fields from the ingested document to the model’s input. Dot notation is used by default. To explicitly use JSONPath, please ensure to prepend with the
-        root object selector "${JSONPATH_ROOT_SELECTOR}"`}
             keyTitle="Name"
             keyPlaceholder="Name"
             keyOptions={parseModelInputs(props.modelInterface)}
@@ -306,6 +303,7 @@ export function InputTransformModal(props: InputTransformModalProps) {
                 ? 'Specify a query field'
                 : 'Define a document field'
             }
+            valueHelpText={`Specify a document field or define JSONPath to transform the document to map to a model input field.`}
             valueOptions={props.valueOptions}
             // If the map we are adding is the first one, populate the selected option to index 0
             onMapAdd={(curArray) => {
diff --git a/public/pages/workflow_detail/workflow_inputs/processor_inputs/modals/output_transform_modal.tsx b/public/pages/workflow_detail/workflow_inputs/processor_inputs/modals/output_transform_modal.tsx
index 15ef0364..c7e94475 100644
--- a/public/pages/workflow_detail/workflow_inputs/processor_inputs/modals/output_transform_modal.tsx
+++ b/public/pages/workflow_detail/workflow_inputs/processor_inputs/modals/output_transform_modal.tsx
@@ -33,7 +33,6 @@ import {
   IConfigField,
   IProcessorConfig,
   IngestPipelineConfig,
-  JSONPATH_ROOT_SELECTOR,
   MapArrayFormValue,
   MapFormValue,
   ModelInterface,
@@ -213,10 +212,9 @@ export function OutputTransformModal(props: OutputTransformModalProps) {
         const OutputMap = (
           <MapArrayField
             fieldPath={'output_map'}
-            helpText={`An array specifying how to map the model’s output to new fields. Dot notation is used by default. To explicitly use JSONPath, please ensure to prepend with the
-root object selector "${JSONPATH_ROOT_SELECTOR}"`}
             keyTitle="Name"
             keyPlaceholder="Name"
+            keyHelpText={`Specify a model output field or define JSONPath to transform the model output to map to a new document field.`}
             keyOptions={
               tempFullResponsePath
                 ? undefined
diff --git a/public/utils/utils.ts b/public/utils/utils.ts
index dd29f916..7dc9db9b 100644
--- a/public/utils/utils.ts
+++ b/public/utils/utils.ts
@@ -229,18 +229,13 @@ function getTransformedResult(
   // the entire value. This may happen if full_response_path=false
   // and the input is the entire result with nothing else to parse out.
   // get() does not cover this case, so we override manually.
-  const result =
-    path === '.'
-      ? input
-      : mapEntry.value.startsWith(JSONPATH_ROOT_SELECTOR)
-      ? // JSONPath transform
-        jsonpath.query(input, path)
-      : // Standard dot notation
-        get(input, path);
-
-  // ML processors dynamically handle arrays vs. single values differently when indexing.
-  // We replicate that logic here to get consistent results
-  return Array.isArray(result) && result.length === 1 ? result[0] : result;
+  return path === '.'
+    ? input
+    : mapEntry.value.startsWith(JSONPATH_ROOT_SELECTOR)
+    ? // JSONPath transform
+      jsonpath.query(input, path)
+    : // Standard dot notation
+      get(input, path);
 }
 
 // Derive the collection of model inputs from the model interface JSONSchema into a form-ready list