Tech & AI Glossary
Clear, authoritative definitions for the terms that matter most to developers, builders, and tech decision-makers.
AI
(34 terms)Agentic AI
AI systems that autonomously plan and execute complex multi-step tasks.
AI Agent
Autonomous AI system that perceives, decides, and acts to achieve goals.
AI Avatar
AI-generated digital human that speaks and moves realistically.
AI Code Assistant
AI tool that helps developers write, edit, and debug code using LLMs.
AI Copilot
AI assistant embedded in software that understands context and proactively helps.
AI Hallucination
When an AI generates plausible but factually incorrect information.
AI Image Generation
Creating images from text prompts using AI diffusion models.
AI Lip Sync
AI that synchronizes mouth movements in video to match any audio track.
AI Search Engine
Search platform using LLMs to synthesize direct answers instead of returning links.
AI Video Generation
Creating video content from text, images, or clips using AI models.
AI Workflow Automation
Intelligent automation using AI to create self-adapting workflows beyond simple rules.
Context Window
Maximum text length an LLM can process in one interaction, measured in tokens.
Diffusion Model
Generative AI architecture that creates images/video by reversing a noising process.
DLSS
NVIDIA AI technology that upscales game frames using neural networks for better performance.
Embedding
Numerical vector capturing semantic meaning for AI search and retrieval.
Fine-tuning
Training a pre-trained model on specialized data for a specific task.
Image Upscaling
AI-powered resolution enhancement that adds detail to low-resolution images.
Inference
Running a trained AI model to generate outputs from new inputs.
Knowledge Base
Structured information repository used by AI systems for grounded, accurate responses.
LLM
AI model trained on massive text to understand and generate human language.
LoRA
Efficient fine-tuning technique that customizes AI models with minimal parameters.
Machine Learning
AI subset where systems learn patterns from data without explicit programming.
Model Distillation
Training a smaller model to replicate a larger model's capabilities efficiently.
Multimodal AI
AI systems that process and generate across text, images, audio, video, and code.
Prompt Engineering
Designing optimized instructions to guide AI models toward desired outputs.
RAG
AI architecture combining document retrieval with LLM generation for accurate responses.
Speech-to-Text (STT)
AI technology converting spoken language into written text.
Stable Diffusion
Open-source AI image model running locally on consumer GPUs.
Text-to-Image
AI that generates images from written text descriptions using diffusion models.
Text-to-Speech (TTS)
AI technology converting written text into natural-sounding spoken audio.
Text-to-Video
AI that generates video clips directly from written text descriptions.
Token
Fundamental text unit that LLMs process — roughly 3-4 characters.
Transformer
Neural network architecture using self-attention — the foundation of modern AI.
Voice Cloning
AI that replicates a person's voice from a short audio sample.
Business
(11 terms)Affiliate Marketing
Performance-based revenue model earning commissions for promoting products.
B2B / B2C
Business models selling to businesses (B2B) vs individual consumers (B2C).
CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost)
Total cost to acquire one new paying customer.
Churn Rate
Percentage of customers who cancel their subscription in a given period.
Free Tier
Limited free access to a product for trying core features.
Freemium
Business model offering a free basic product with paid premium features.
LTV (Lifetime Value)
Total expected revenue from a single customer over their entire relationship.
MRR / ARR
Monthly/Annual Recurring Revenue — the core financial metric for subscriptions.
Open Source
Software with publicly available source code anyone can inspect and modify.
Product-Led Growth
Growth strategy where the product itself drives acquisition and conversion.
SaaS
Cloud software accessed via subscription instead of local installation.
Data
(1 terms)Development
(14 terms)API
Rules and protocols enabling software applications to communicate.
Component Library
Pre-built, reusable UI components for building consistent, accessible interfaces.
Git
Distributed version control system for tracking code changes and collaboration.
GraphQL
Query language for APIs that lets clients request exactly the data they need.
IDE
Development workspace for writing, testing, and debugging code with AI integration.
JAMstack
Web architecture serving pre-rendered pages from CDN with API-powered functionality.
Next.js
Full-stack React framework by Vercel for production web applications.
No-Code / Low-Code
Building apps with visual tools and minimal coding, supercharged by AI.
React
Open-source JavaScript library for building component-based user interfaces.
REST API
Web service architecture using HTTP methods on URL-identified resources.
SSR / SSG / ISR
Web rendering strategies: server-side, static generation, and incremental regeneration.
Tailwind CSS
Utility-first CSS framework for composing designs directly in HTML.
TypeScript
Typed superset of JavaScript that catches bugs at compile time.
Webhook
HTTP callback pushing real-time data when events occur.
Infrastructure
(15 terms)Caching
Storing data copies in fast-access locations to avoid repeating expensive operations.
CDN
Global server network delivering content from the location nearest to each user.
CI/CD
Automated practices for building, testing, and deploying code changes.
Database Migration
Versioned, incremental changes to database schema for controlled evolution.
DNS
Internet system translating domain names into IP addresses.
Docker
Platform packaging apps into portable containers for consistent deployment.
Edge Computing
Processing data near users instead of centralized data centers.
GPU Cloud
Cloud services providing on-demand GPU access for AI training and inference.
Kubernetes
Container orchestration platform for automated deployment and scaling.
Load Balancing
Distributing traffic across multiple servers to prevent overload.
Microservices
Architecture building applications as independent, loosely-coupled services.
Rate Limiting
Controlling request frequency to protect APIs from abuse and overload.
Render Farm
GPU cluster for parallelized rendering of 3D, VFX, and AI-generated media.
Serverless
Cloud model where providers manage servers — devs deploy functions on-demand.
SSL/TLS
Encryption protocols securing data between browsers and servers (HTTPS).
Marketing
(11 terms)AEO (Answer Engine Optimization)
Optimizing content to be selected as direct answers in search and AI platforms.
Canonical URL
The preferred URL version search engines should index when duplicates exist.
Core Web Vitals
Google's page experience metrics: loading speed (LCP), responsiveness (INP), visual stability (CLS).
Crawl Budget
Number of pages search engine bots will crawl on your site in a given period.
E-E-A-T
Google's content quality framework: Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness.
Featured Snippet
Google search result showing a direct answer at the top of results ("position zero").
GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)
Optimizing content to appear in AI-generated answers from Perplexity, ChatGPT, etc.
IndexNow
Protocol for instantly notifying search engines about new or updated pages.
Schema Markup
Schema.org vocabulary for marking up web content so search engines understand its meaning.
SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
Optimizing websites and content to rank higher in search engine results.
Structured Data
Standardized format (JSON-LD) telling search engines exactly what a page contains.
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