AI & Automation Glossary
Clear, jargon-free definitions of key AI and automation concepts for business owners.
80/20 Principle (Pareto Principle)
A concept stating that roughly 80% of results come from 20% of efforts. In business, this means focusing on the highest-impact activities that drive most of your revenue or growth.
AI (Artificial Intelligence)
Technology that enables machines to learn from data and perform tasks that typically require human intelligence. AI can recognise patterns, make decisions, and improve over time without explicit programming for every scenario.
AI Agent
An autonomous AI system that can make decisions, take actions, and interact with other tools or services without constant human intervention. Think of it as a digital assistant that works independently within defined parameters.
AI Workflow Audit
A systematic review of your business processes to identify which tasks could be automated or enhanced using AI. This uncovers time-wasting activities that could be delegated to technology.
API (Application Programming Interface)
A set of rules that allows two software applications to communicate and share data. APIs let you connect different tools and automate information flow between them.
Automation
The use of technology to perform repetitive or routine tasks without human intervention. Automation frees up your time and team to focus on strategic, higher-value work.
ChatGPT
A conversational AI tool built by OpenAI that can answer questions, write content, and help with a wide range of tasks through natural conversation. It's widely accessible and popular for business use cases.
Claude
An AI assistant created by Anthropic, designed for complex reasoning, analysis, and content creation. Many businesses prefer Claude for detailed work, coding, and strategic thinking tasks.
Close The Gap Assessment
An 8020AI service that evaluates where your business stands with AI adoption and identifies specific opportunities to close the gap between your current state and your potential.
ClaimBackTime
An 8020AI service focused on identifying and automating time-wasting tasks, allowing business owners to reclaim hours each week and focus on revenue-generating activities.
CRM (Customer Relationship Management)
Software that helps you manage interactions with customers and prospects, tracking communications, sales opportunities, and customer data in one central location.
E-E-A-T
Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. A framework used to evaluate content quality, especially important for AI-generated content to maintain credibility with your audience.
Generative AI
AI that can create new content—text, images, code, or data—based on patterns it has learned. Tools like ChatGPT and Claude are examples of generative AI.
Hallucination
When an AI confidently provides false or made-up information that sounds plausible. Always fact-check AI outputs, especially for critical business decisions.
Integration
The process of connecting different software tools so they work together seamlessly. Good integrations eliminate manual data entry and keep information up-to-date across systems.
LLM (Large Language Model)
A type of AI trained on vast amounts of text data to understand and generate human language. ChatGPT, Claude, and similar tools are all large language models.
Make
A popular no-code automation platform that lets you connect apps and build workflows without coding. Used for automating repetitive tasks between different software tools.
n8n
An open-source automation platform similar to Make and Zapier, offering more technical control and flexibility for building complex workflows between applications.
Natural Language Processing
A branch of AI that helps machines understand and interpret human language as it's naturally written or spoken. This powers chatbots and AI assistants.
Prompt
An instruction or question you give to an AI tool to generate a response. The quality and clarity of your prompt directly influences the quality of the output.
Prompt Engineering
The skill of crafting clear, specific instructions for AI to get better results. Small changes to your prompt can significantly improve the relevance and quality of AI outputs.
SaaS
Software as a Service—cloud-based software you access through a web browser, usually on a subscription basis. Most modern business tools are SaaS applications.
Workflow
A sequence of automated steps that tasks follow from start to finish. Well-designed workflows reduce errors, save time, and ensure consistency across your business.
Zapier
A popular no-code automation platform that connects hundreds of apps and lets you create automated workflows. Similar to Make, it's one of the easiest ways to start automating.