Neural Network
A system of simple connected units, loosely inspired by the brain, that learns patterns from examples rather than following rules somebody wrote. Nearly all modern AI is built on one.
Related terms
OAI-SearchBot
The crawler OpenAI uses to answer live searches in ChatGPT, separate from GPTBot. Blocking one does not block the other, so a site can be absent from ChatGPT search while still being read for training.
Topical Authority
Being recognised as a reliable source on a subject rather than on a single keyword, usually by covering it thoroughly and consistently. It is what makes a small site beat a bigger one in a narrow field.
Predictive Analytics
Using historical data to estimate what will happen next: which customers will lapse, which stock will run out. Useful precisely to the degree that the past resembles the future.
Training Data
The text, images or code a model learned from. It shapes everything the model knows and every bias it carries, and it is why what your website said two years ago may still be what an assistant repeats.
Fine-Tuning
Taking a general model and training it further on your own examples so it follows your tone or handles your particular task. Useful when prompting alone keeps producing nearly-right answers.
Computer Vision
AI that interprets images and video — reading a document, recognising a product, counting people. The part of AI that has been quietly working in industry for years.