Glossary

No jargon. Just definitions.

Plain-language explanations of AI and automation terms — written for business owners, not developers.

A

Accounts Payable Automation

Accounts payable automation is the use of software to manage the full supplier invoice process, from capturing and approving invoices to scheduling payments, replacing manual handling with rule-based digital workflows.
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Agent Orchestration

Agent orchestration is the coordination of multiple AI agents within a single system, where each agent handles a specific task and passes outputs to the next agent according to a defined workflow.
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Agentic AI

Agentic AI is an AI system that autonomously plans and executes sequences of actions to complete a goal, using tools and making decisions without step-by-step human direction.
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AI Agent

An AI agent is a software system that uses a large language model to autonomously plan, execute, and adapt multi-step tasks, making decisions and using tools without requiring human input at every step.
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AI Automation

AI automation is the use of artificial intelligence to execute business tasks without human input, going beyond rule-based automation by interpreting unstructured data, making decisions under ambiguity, and adapting to variation.
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AI Governance

AI governance is the set of policies, roles, and controls an organisation uses to manage how artificial intelligence is built and used, ensuring AI systems are accurate, secure, compliant, and accountable.
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AI Hallucination

AI hallucination is when an AI model generates information that is factually incorrect, fabricated, or unsupported by its training data or provided context, presented with the same confidence as accurate information.
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AI OS (Operating System)

An AI OS is a layered product architecture that combines an AI-driven frontend, an agent-based logic layer, and a structured database into a single coordinated system — directed by human operators rather than fixed development cycles.
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AI Readiness

AI readiness is the degree to which an organisation has the data, infrastructure, skills, and processes in place to adopt artificial intelligence successfully, measured before any AI tool is deployed.
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AI Triage and Classification

AI triage and classification is the automated sorting and prioritization of incoming data — such as leads, support tickets, or documents — using machine learning models to route each item to the right team or workflow.
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Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)

Answer engine optimization (AEO) is the practice of structuring content so AI answer engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews can extract and cite it directly when responding to user questions.
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API Integration

API integration is the process of connecting separate software applications to exchange data automatically through standardized programming interfaces, eliminating manual data transfer between systems.
A

Automated CRM Updates

Automated CRM updates use workflow automation to sync contact records, deal stages, and activity logs across systems in real time — eliminating manual data entry and keeping sales pipelines accurate without human intervention.
B

Bank Reconciliation Automation

Bank reconciliation automation is the use of software to match transactions in a company's accounting records against its bank statements automatically, flagging discrepancies without manual line-by-line checking.
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Business Process Automation

Business process automation (BPA) is the use of software to run entire multi-step business processes automatically, coordinating tasks, data, and systems across a whole workflow rather than a single isolated task.
C

Chatbot

A chatbot is a software program that simulates conversation with users via text or voice, handling questions and tasks automatically without requiring a human to respond.
C

Content Automation

Content automation is the use of software and AI to produce, adapt, schedule, and distribute marketing content automatically, reducing the manual effort of creating and publishing across channels.
C

Context Engineering

Context engineering is the practice of designing, structuring, and curating the information given to an AI model to improve the quality, accuracy, and relevance of its outputs — beyond what prompt wording alone can achieve.
C

Context Window

A context window is the maximum amount of text an AI model can process in a single interaction, measured in tokens. It determines how much information — instructions, documents, conversation history, and data — the model can reference when generating a response.
C

Conversational AI

Conversational AI is technology that enables computers to understand, process, and respond to human language naturally, powering chatbots, voice assistants, and AI agents that hold context across a full conversation.
D

Data Enrichment

Data enrichment is the process of enhancing existing records by appending information from external sources, such as adding company size, industry, or contact details to a CRM record automatically.
D

Data Lake

A data lake is a centralized repository that stores raw data from multiple sources in its original format, making it searchable and usable by AI tools without requiring prior structuring.
D

Data Residency

Data residency is the requirement that specific data must be stored and processed within a defined geographic region or country, typically to comply with local privacy or data sovereignty laws.
E

Email Automation

Email automation is a system that sends targeted emails to specific recipients based on defined triggers, behaviours, or schedules, without requiring manual composition or sending for each message.
E

Email Sequence

An email sequence is a series of pre-written emails sent automatically to a contact based on a trigger or schedule, used for lead nurturing, onboarding, follow-up, and re-engagement.
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Expense Management Automation

Expense management automation is the use of software to capture, categorise, approve, and reimburse employee expenses automatically, replacing manual receipts and spreadsheets with a digital workflow.
F

Fine-Tuning

Fine-tuning is the process of training a pre-existing AI model on a curated dataset to improve its performance on a specific domain, task, or output style, without rebuilding the model from scratch.
F

Function Calling

Function calling is a capability of AI models to identify when a task requires an external tool or API, generate a structured request for that tool, and incorporate the tool's response into its reply.
G

Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)

Generative engine optimization (GEO) is the practice of structuring content so generative AI engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews are more likely to cite and reference it when generating answers.
H

Hyperautomation

Hyperautomation is a business strategy that combines multiple automation technologies, including AI, machine learning, RPA, workflow automation, and integration platforms, to automate as many processes as possible across an organization.
I

Invoice Automation

Invoice automation is the use of software to create, send, process, and track invoices automatically, replacing manual data entry and approval steps with rule-based workflows that move invoices from issue to payment.
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iPaaS (Integration Platform as a Service)

iPaaS is a cloud-based platform that connects separate software applications by managing data flows and triggers between them, without requiring custom code for each integration.
K

Knowledge Base

A knowledge base is a structured collection of a company's documents, policies, and processes, organized so employees and AI tools can search and retrieve accurate answers on demand.
L

Large Language Model (LLM)

A large language model (LLM) is an AI system trained on vast amounts of text that can understand and generate human language, code, and structured data across a wide range of tasks.
L

Lead Nurturing

Lead nurturing is the process of building relationships with prospects who are not yet ready to buy, using timely and relevant communication to guide them toward a purchase decision over time.
L

Lead Scoring

Lead scoring is a method of ranking sales prospects using a numerical score based on their fit for a product and their demonstrated interest, helping sales teams prioritise which contacts to pursue first.
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Low-Code

Low-code is a software development approach that uses visual builders and pre-built components to create applications, with optional scripting for customization — reducing development time by 50–70% compared to traditional coding.
M

Machine Learning

Machine learning is a branch of AI in which systems learn to recognize patterns and make predictions from data, improving their accuracy over time without being explicitly programmed for each outcome.
M

Make (Integromat)

Make, formerly known as Integromat, is a visual workflow automation platform that connects apps and services through a drag-and-drop scenario builder, handling multi-step automations with branching logic and data transformation.
M

Marketing Automation

Marketing automation is the use of software to run marketing tasks and campaigns automatically, such as email sequences, lead scoring, and audience segmentation, triggered by customer behaviour rather than manual effort.
M

Model Context Protocol (MCP)

The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open standard that defines how AI models connect to and interact with external tools, databases, and services in a structured, permission-controlled way.
M

Multi-Agent System

A multi-agent system is a collection of AI agents that each specialize in a distinct function and work together to complete tasks too complex or varied for a single agent to handle reliably on its own.
N

n8n

n8n is an open-source workflow automation platform that connects apps, APIs, and AI models through a visual node-based builder, available as a self-hosted or cloud service.
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Natural Language Processing (NLP)

Natural language processing (NLP) is a branch of AI that enables computers to read, understand, and generate human language, forming the technical foundation of AI assistants, chatbots, and document analysis tools.
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No-Code Automation

No-code automation is the use of visual, drag-and-drop tools to build automated workflows without writing code, allowing non-technical business users to connect apps, trigger actions, and eliminate manual tasks.
P

Pipeline Automation

Pipeline automation is the use of software to move deals through sales stages automatically, updating records, triggering tasks, and advancing or flagging opportunities based on defined rules rather than manual tracking.
P

Prompt Engineering

Prompt engineering is the practice of designing and refining text instructions to reliably produce useful, accurate outputs from an AI language model, without modifying the model itself.
R

Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG)

Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) is a technique that improves AI output accuracy by retrieving relevant documents from a knowledge base and including them in the model's context before generating a response.
R

Robotic Process Automation (RPA)

Robotic process automation (RPA) is software that mimics human actions in digital interfaces to execute repetitive, rule-based tasks — such as copying data between systems, filling forms, and generating reports — without human involvement.
S

Sales Automation

Sales automation is the use of software to handle repetitive sales tasks automatically, such as data entry, follow-up emails, lead routing, and pipeline updates, so sales teams spend more time selling.
S

Semantic Search

Semantic search is a search technique that understands the meaning and intent behind a query — not just the keywords — using vector embeddings and natural language processing to return contextually relevant results.
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Social Media Automation

Social media automation is the use of software to schedule, publish, and manage social media content and interactions automatically, replacing manual posting and monitoring across multiple platforms.
S

Structured Output

Structured output is a capability of AI models to generate responses in a defined, machine-readable format such as JSON or CSV, enabling reliable programmatic processing of AI-generated content in automated workflows.
S

System Prompt

A system prompt is a set of instructions given to an AI model before a conversation begins, defining its role, behavior, constraints, and output format for that session.
T

Trigger-Action Automation

Trigger-action automation is a workflow pattern where a defined event automatically starts one or more tasks, removing the need for manual intervention in routine, rule-based processes.
V

Vector Database

A vector database is a database designed to store and search high-dimensional numerical representations of data (embeddings), enabling fast similarity-based retrieval rather than exact keyword matching.
W

Webhook

A webhook is an automated HTTP callback that sends real-time data from one application to another the instant a specific event occurs, without polling or manual triggers.
W

Workflow Automation

Workflow automation is the use of technology to execute a series of connected business tasks automatically — reducing manual effort, minimizing errors, and enabling teams to focus on higher-value work.
Z

Zapier

Zapier is a no-code automation platform that connects 7,000+ web applications through trigger-action workflows, allowing businesses to automate tasks between apps without writing code.