Your Plain-Language AI Glossary
This glossary is here to give you simple, steady definitions for the AI terms you’ll run into as you get started. You don’t need to memorize anything — just use this page as a quick reference whenever a word feels unfamiliar or unclear.
Computer systems designed to assist with tasks like answering questions, recognizing patterns, organizing information, or generating text. In this glossary, “AI” mainly refers to tools you can talk to, such as ChatGPT or other platforms.
An AI chat tool you can talk to in plain English (or other languages) to get answers, ideas, drafts, and explanations. ChatGPT is one example of this type of tool — several other platforms work in similar ways.
A kind of AI trained on huge amounts of text so it can predict what words should come next in a sentence. ChatGPT and similar tools are built on large language models.
The words you type into an AI tool to tell it what you want. A good prompt usually includes what you’re trying to do, the details that matter, and how you want the answer to sound.
A message you send after the first answer to adjust or improve what the AI gave you. Follow-ups help the AI get closer to what you had in mind.
The running memory of the current chat. The AI looks at your recent messages and its own responses so it can stay on topic, but it doesn’t remember everything forever.
Small pieces of text the AI uses behind the scenes instead of full sentences. You don’t need to manage tokens directly, but they explain why very long conversations or answers sometimes get cut off.
When an AI gives an answer that sounds confident but is wrong, made up, or partly incorrect. This is normal for AI tools and is why checking important facts matters.
A setting that controls how “creative” or “steady” the AI’s answers are. Lower temperature gives more predictable responses; higher temperature leads to more variety.
Guidelines given to an AI tool about how it should behave, such as “explain things step by step” or “use simple language.” These instructions help keep the AI focused on your needs.
A reusable prompt structure you fill in with your own details. Templates make it easier to get consistent results.
A first version of text the AI creates for you, like an email, message, or paragraph. Drafts are meant to be edited and refined.
A clearer, shorter, longer, or more polished version of something the AI already wrote. You can revise as many times as you like until it fits what you need.
A prompt that asks the AI to generate multiple ideas or options instead of a single answer. Great for exploring possibilities.
Limits or guidelines you set for how you want to use AI. Guardrails help you stay comfortable and give the AI a clear idea of what is okay and not okay for your tasks.
A small, repeatable process where AI helps you with the same type of task over and over — such as writing emails, planning events, or organizing information.
