Glossary
Plain-word definitions of the AI and Claude terms used across the Academy. No jargon, just clear explanations you can actually use at work.
40 terms
- AgentCore conceptAI that doesn't just answer, but takes steps to finish a task: using tools and working through several stages on its own.
- AnonymisationSafetyRemoving or masking the details that identify people, so data can be used or shared without exposing anyone.
- ArtifactClaudeA piece of work Claude builds in its own panel, a document, table, chart, or small app, that you can keep, edit, and reuse.
- Artificial intelligenceCore conceptSoftware that learns to do a task from examples, instead of following step-by-step rules a person wrote by hand.
- AutomationCore conceptSetting up a repeatable job once so it runs on its own, instead of you doing the same steps by hand every time.
- ChatClaudeOne back-and-forth conversation with Claude, saved on its own, holding everything you have said and everything it has replied in that thread.
- ChatGPTToolsOpenAI's AI chatbot, the tool that put generative AI in front of everyone. A capable, general-purpose assistant.
- ClaudeClaudeClaude is the AI assistant made by Anthropic: you chat with it in plain language and it helps with writing, analysis, and more.
- Claude CodeClaudeAnthropic's AI coding agent that works in your terminal: it reads the files in your project, proposes changes you approve, and runs the build-and-test loop with you.
- Claude DesignClaudeA tool for making things you can see (prototypes, slides, one-pagers, pages) by describing them in a chat and refining the result on a canvas beside it.
- ConnectorClaudeA bridge that links Claude to an outside app, so it can pull in data (read) and do things back (act) without you copying between tools.
- ContextCore conceptThe background you give an AI, who you are, what you are doing, and what matters, so its answer fits your real situation.
- Context windowCore conceptThe limited space that holds everything Claude is working with right now: your files plus the whole conversation, all measured in tokens.
- CoworkClaudeA mode where Claude works directly on files in a folder you connect, reading them and building finished deliverables in place, not just answering in chat.
- Custom instructionsClaudeA standing note about who you are and how you want Claude to respond, saved once and applied to every chat automatically.
- Enterprise tierSafetyThe business plan of an AI tool. Unlike consumer plans, it typically does not train on your data by default and runs under a formal data agreement.
- Extended thinkingClaudeA setting that lets Claude work through a hard problem step by step before it answers, trading a little speed for a better result.
- GDPRSafetyThe EU's data protection law. It sets rules for how organisations collect, store, and use people's personal data, with real penalties for getting it wrong.
- GeminiToolsGoogle's AI assistant, woven into Search, Workspace, and Android. Strong at Google-ecosystem tasks and multimodal work.
- Generative AICore conceptAI that creates new content, text, images, or code, by predicting what should come next from patterns it has learned.
- HallucinationCore conceptWhen AI states something false as if it were true. It predicts fluent text, so a wrong answer can still sound confident.
- IterationPromptingImproving an answer step by step with short follow-ups, steering the AI toward what you want instead of expecting the first reply to be perfect.
- Large language modelCore conceptThe kind of AI behind chat tools: trained on huge amounts of text, it generates answers by predicting the next word, over and over.
- Machine learningCore conceptThe main way modern AI is built: the system learns patterns from many examples rather than being handed explicit rules.
- MarkdownUnder the hoodA simple way to format plain text with a few symbols, like ** for bold and # for a heading, that both people and AI read easily.
- MCP (Model Context Protocol)Under the hoodThe Model Context Protocol: an open standard that lets any AI tool connect to any app through one shared plug, instead of a custom link each time.
- Microsoft CopilotToolsMicrosoft's AI assistant, built into Windows and Microsoft 365 apps like Word, Excel, and Outlook.
- ModelCore conceptThe trained system that actually produces the answers. Claude comes in several models that trade speed for power.
- PerplexityToolsAn AI answer engine: it searches the web in real time and answers with citations, so you can check where each claim came from.
- Personal dataSafetyAny information that can identify a living person, directly or combined with other data, from a name or email to a location or ID number.
- PlaybookCore conceptA repeatable recipe that chains several steps into one finished outcome, so a whole job runs the same way every time instead of being pieced together by hand.
- ProjectClaudeA home for one piece of ongoing work that keeps files, instructions, and chats together, so every new chat starts already briefed.
- PromptPromptingThe instruction you give an AI. The clearer and more complete the prompt, the better the answer you get back.
- Prompt engineeringPromptingThe skill of writing clear, complete instructions so an AI gives you a useful answer. Less a dark art, more a repeatable recipe.
- Scheduled taskClaudeWork you describe once that Claude then runs on its own, on a set cadence or on demand, handing you finished output like a briefing, report, or summary.
- SkillClaudeA small, reusable package of instructions (sometimes with templates or scripts) that teaches Claude to do one task the same way every time.
- TerminalUnder the hoodA text-based window where you control your computer by typing commands, one line at a time, instead of clicking buttons and menus.
- TokenUnder the hoodA chunk of text the AI reads and counts, roughly three-quarters of a word. Tokens drive limits, cost, and speed.
- TrainingUnder the hoodThe process where a model learns patterns from huge amounts of text, building the knowledge it later uses, fixed at a cut-off date.
- Web searchClaudeA setting that lets Claude look things up on the internet, so it can answer with current information and link its sources.