AI Terms Explained
A Friendly Glossary for Business Owners
Whether you’re dipping your toes into AI or already exploring how to bring it into your business, here’s a no-nonsense glossary of terms to help you understand the language behind the technology.
🤖 AI (Artificial Intelligence)
Software that can “think” like a human — it can learn, solve problems, and make decisions.
Technically, it refers to machines simulating human intelligence to perform tasks like understanding language, recognising images, or making predictions.
Technically, it refers to machines simulating human intelligence to perform tasks like understanding language, recognising images, or making predictions.
💬 Chatbot
A tool that chats with users via text on your website or in apps like Messenger or WhatsApp.
Early ones followed scripts. Modern ones can hold conversations using AI (see: Text AI Agent).
Early ones followed scripts. Modern ones can hold conversations using AI (see: Text AI Agent).
🧠 Text AI Agent
An advanced chatbot that uses powerful AI to understand context and respond naturally.
Can access knowledge bases, chat history, and even handle internal staff queries.
Can access knowledge bases, chat history, and even handle internal staff queries.
📞 Voice AI Agent
A digital assistant that handles real phone calls — sounds human, understands context, and performs tasks like booking, answering, or qualifying leads.
🧩 Business Process Automation (BPA)
Using AI or software to complete tasks that used to be done manually.
Examples: updating your CRM after a call, sending confirmation emails, or creating reports.
Examples: updating your CRM after a call, sending confirmation emails, or creating reports.
🔠 LLM (Large Language Model)
The powerful engine behind modern AI tools like ChatGPT. It’s trained on huge amounts of text to generate humanlike responses.
Think of it as a super-smart brain that helps AI understand and write language.
Think of it as a super-smart brain that helps AI understand and write language.
🗂 Knowledge Base
A collection of your company’s information — FAQs, guides, procedures — that AI can search to give accurate answers instantly.
🧾 CRM (Customer Relationship Management)
The software you use to track customers, leads, and their interactions with your business (e.g. HubSpot, Salesforce, Zoho).
🔄 Automation Workflow
A chain of actions the AI or system completes automatically after a trigger — like updating a record, sending a message, or starting a new process.
🧭 Intent Recognition
AI’s ability to figure out what someone actually wants when they speak or type.
E.g. If someone says “Can I talk to someone?”, it knows they want a human — not a weather report.
E.g. If someone says “Can I talk to someone?”, it knows they want a human — not a weather report.
📡 Webhook
A way for one system to instantly send information to another system as soon as something happens.
Faster and smarter than old-school data checks or polling.
Faster and smarter than old-school data checks or polling.
📉 Polling (vs Webhooks)
Polling is when a system keeps checking another system every few seconds to see if something changed.
Webhooks are smarter — they only trigger when something actually happens.
Webhooks are smarter — they only trigger when something actually happens.
🧑💻 Low-Code / No-Code
Tools that let you build apps, bots, or workflows without needing full programming skills.
Great for businesses that want control without hiring developers.
Great for businesses that want control without hiring developers.
🧬 Natural Language Processing (NLP)
The science of helping computers understand human language — reading, listening, and replying.
Basic NLP has now evolved into more advanced tools like LLMs.
Basic NLP has now evolved into more advanced tools like LLMs.
🧏 Voice Cloning
Technology that lets AI talk using a custom humanlike voice — which can sound exactly like a person or a unique, branded tone.
🗣 Turn-Taking Model
A feature that helps Voice AI know when to pause, listen, or respond — just like in a natural phone conversation.
📊 Conversation Analytics
AI tools that analyse chats or calls to spot trends, sentiment, or customer needs — and generate actionable insights.
📎 Prompt
The input you give an AI to start a task or get a result.
Example: “Summarise this email” or “Create a polite reply”.
Example: “Summarise this email” or “Create a polite reply”.
🔒 Enterprise-Grade Security
A fancy way of saying: “Your data is protected at a level trusted by big companies.”
Includes encryption, secure storage, and strict access controls.
Includes encryption, secure storage, and strict access controls.
🧰 Fine-Tuning (a Model)
Teaching an AI model extra knowledge or behaviours specific to your company.
This makes the AI feel custom-built for your brand and industry.
This makes the AI feel custom-built for your brand and industry.
🧑🏫 Training Data
The information fed into an AI to help it learn how to answer questions or make decisions.
More data = usually smarter results.
More data = usually smarter results.
👥 Agent Handoff
When a chatbot or voice AI knows it’s time to let a human take over.
A smooth handoff ensures customers get help when they really need it.
A smooth handoff ensures customers get help when they really need it.
🕐 Latency
The delay between when someone says or types something, and when the AI responds.
Lower latency = quicker, more natural conversations.
Lower latency = quicker, more natural conversations.
🌍 Multilingual Capability
The AI’s ability to understand and speak multiple languages fluently. Crucial for global businesses or diverse audiences.
🧪 A/B Testing
Trying out two versions of a chatbot or call flow to see which works better.
Helps improve performance over time.
Helps improve performance over time.
💡 Generative AI
A type of AI that can create new things — text, images, audio, and more — based on your input.
ChatGPT, DALL·E, and voice synthesis tools all use generative AI.
ChatGPT, DALL·E, and voice synthesis tools all use generative AI.