AI words, in plain English
The terms you'll hear when people talk about AI, each explained in a sentence or two. No tech background needed.
- AEO (answer engine optimization)
- Making your business easy for AI tools and answer boxes to understand and mention. You may also hear GEO, generative engine optimization, used for the same idea.
- Agent
- An AI setup that can take steps on its own toward a goal, such as looking something up and then filling in a form, instead of only replying in a chat.
- AI (artificial intelligence)
- Computer software that does tasks we used to think needed a person, like writing, understanding speech or recognizing what's in a photo.
- AI search / AI Overviews
- When a search engine or AI tool writes a summary answer at the top instead of just showing a list of links. Google's version is called AI Overviews.
- API
- A behind-the-scenes connection that lets one piece of software talk to another. It's how custom tools plug AI into your existing systems.
- Automation
- Setting up a task to happen on its own, like a reminder text going out the day before an appointment, so nobody has to do it by hand.
- Chat AI / chatbot
- An AI tool you talk to by typing (or speaking) in normal sentences, and it answers back. ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Copilot are examples.
- Context
- The background information you give AI in a conversation, such as details about your business or a document you paste in. More relevant context usually means better answers.
- Google Business Profile
- Your free business listing on Google Search and Maps, with your hours, phone, photos and reviews. It's often the first thing a local customer sees.
- Hallucination
- When AI states something false as if it were true, like a made-up fact, number, quote or link. It is the main reason to double-check.
- Image generation
- AI that creates a picture from a written description. Good for illustrations and backgrounds; less reliable with text inside the image.
- Integration
- Connecting two pieces of software so they share information, like your booking tool sending new customers straight into your email list.
- Large language model (LLM)
- The engine behind chat AI. It learned patterns from a huge amount of text, which is how it can write and answer in plain language.
- Model
- A specific version of an AI system. Companies release new models over time, and different models can be better at different things.
- Privacy and data use
- What an AI company does with what you type in: whether it's stored, for how long, and whether it's used to improve their product. Check the settings and terms of any tool you use.
- Prompt
- Whatever you type into a chat AI: your question, instructions or request. Clearer prompts get more useful answers.
- SEO (search engine optimization)
- Making your website and online listings easy for search engines to understand and trust, so the right customers find you.
- Token
- A small chunk of text, roughly a word or part of a word, that AI reads and writes in. You'll mostly see it when a tool mentions limits on how much it can handle.
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