Do you remember the time when people started tossing around “the cloud” like it was a thing, and then it became a thing? And, not just a thing for IT technicians, but for everyday people and professionals, and other well-adjusted members of business society.
AI is not so different. Terms pop up, they seem scary, and then once you understand, you find yourself working them into conversations like you were born knowing them.
Here are five business AI terms worth knowing:
1. Machine Learning
There is a good chance you’ve been using machine learning for years without ever introducing yourselves to each other.
It recommends what to watch, filters suspicious emails, suggests products you’ll probably end up buying, and ticks away in the background while you get on with your day.
It gets better because it keeps learning.
2. Automation
Automation has been around long before AI arrived.
The difference is that it used to follow the exact same rules every single time. AI has changed that. Rather than stopping once a task is complete, today’s AI-powered workflow automation can often work out what needs to happen next.
That means more time focusing on the work that needs attention and less time wasted managing processes that do not need human intervention.
3. Agentic AI
If machine learning taught computers to recognize patterns, agentic AI is teaching them what to do with them.
The agentic meaning centres on action. Instead of stopping once it has produced an answer, agentic AI can plan, reason, make decisions, and continue working towards an objective with minimal human input.
That ability is why so many businesses believe it represents the next stage in the evolution of artificial intelligence.
4. Large Language Model (LLM)
This one sounds way more intense than it should.
It just means that particular AI was designed to work with language. LLMs can write proposals, explain complicated topics, and generate ideas with insane speed. While it can also help you change the color of your garage door – that is not really playing to its strengths.
There are other AI models built specifically for that kind of work.
5. Generative AI
You know generative AI – you just don’t know you know it, you know?
It’s the thing you ask to write an email. Or pull together a presentation. Or summarize a report because your head hurts and you can’t seem to focus.
Basically, you use it to generate a few great ideas when your brain has decided it has officially clocked off for the day.
In Closing
The names are probably the hardest part. Machine learning. Generative AI. Agentic AI. Large Language Models. They all sound like they belong in a technical manual somewhere – or a Sci-Fi movie.
The next time someone casually mentions one of them, you won’t need to pretend you understand or wonder if they’re even speaking English. Much like “the cloud,” they sound a lot scarier before someone (or this article) explains them properly.
You’re welcome.