AI and software glossary
Plain definitions for the terms that come up when you plan, buy or build AI and business software.
A
Agentic workflowAn agentic workflow is a multi-step process where AI decides which step to take next, calls approved tools and checks its progress toward a defined goal.AI agentAn AI agent is software that uses a language model to interpret a request and carry out defined tasks through approved tools, within set permissions.AI gatewayAn AI gateway is a layer between your applications and AI model providers that routes requests, enforces access rules and records usage and cost in one place.AI governanceAI governance is the set of policies, roles and controls that decide which AI uses are allowed, what data they may touch and who is accountable for the results.AI readiness assessmentAn AI readiness assessment reviews a company's workflows, data, systems and people to decide where AI can help, what must be fixed first and what to leave alone.AI workflow automationAI workflow automation uses software to move work between people and systems, with AI handling steps that need reading, classifying or drafting rather than fixed rules.API (application programming interface)An API is a defined way for one software system to request data or actions from another, such as creating an order or reading a customer record.
C
Cloud migrationCloud migration is moving applications, data or infrastructure from on-premises servers or another provider into a cloud platform such as AWS or Azure.CRM (customer relationship management)A CRM is the system a business uses to record customers, contacts, deals and interactions, such as Salesforce, HubSpot or Microsoft Dynamics 365.
D
Data pipelineA data pipeline is an automated process that collects data from source systems, cleans and reshapes it, and delivers it to the place where it is used.Data warehouseA data warehouse is a central database built for reporting and analysis that combines cleaned data from systems such as the ERP, CRM and finance tools.
E
EmbeddingsEmbeddings are lists of numbers that represent the meaning of text or images, so software can find content that is similar in meaning rather than matching exact words.ERP (enterprise resource planning)An ERP is the core system that runs finance, purchasing, inventory and order management from one database, such as NetSuite, SAP, Microsoft Dynamics 365 or Odoo.Evals (AI evaluation)Evals are structured tests that measure how well an AI system performs on a fixed set of realistic examples, so changes can be compared before they reach users.
F
Fine-tuningFine-tuning is further training of an existing AI model on your own examples so it follows a specific format, style or task more consistently.FinOpsFinOps is the practice of managing cloud spending as a shared responsibility of finance, engineering and business teams, so costs are visible, owned and tied to value.
H
HallucinationA hallucination is output from an AI model that sounds confident and plausible but is false, unsupported by its sources or invented outright.Human-in-the-loopHuman-in-the-loop is a design where a person reviews, corrects or approves an AI system's work at defined points before it takes effect.
I
Intelligent document processingIntelligent document processing uses OCR and AI to read documents such as invoices, contracts and forms, extract the needed fields, check them and route exceptions for review.iPaaS (integration platform as a service)An iPaaS is a cloud platform for connecting business applications and automating data flows between them, such as Workato, Boomi, MuleSoft or Zapier.
L
Large language model (LLM)A large language model is an AI model trained on large amounts of text to understand and generate language, such as OpenAI's GPT models, Anthropic's Claude and Google's Gemini.Least privilegeLeast privilege is the security principle that every person, application or AI agent gets only the minimum access needed to do its job, and nothing more.
M
O
P
Prompt injectionPrompt injection is an attack where instructions hidden in content an AI system reads, such as an email or web page, try to override its rules.Proof of conceptA proof of concept is a small, time-limited build that tests whether a specific idea works with real data before a company commits to full development.
R
Retrieval-augmented generation (RAG)Retrieval-augmented generation is a technique where an AI system first finds relevant passages in approved sources, then uses them to write an answer with references.Robotic process automation (RPA)Robotic process automation uses software bots that copy a person's clicks and keystrokes in applications to complete repetitive, rule-based tasks.
S
T
Technical debtTechnical debt is the future cost of shortcuts in software or systems, paid as slower changes, more errors and higher maintenance until the shortcuts are fixed.Total cost of ownershipTotal cost of ownership is the full cost of a system over its useful life, including build or purchase, licenses, infrastructure, integration, support, training and replacement.
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W
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