The AI Glossary
Every term explained like you're a smart person who just hasn't learned this stuff yet. Because that's exactly what you are.
AGI
Artificial General Intelligence
AI that can do everything a human can. We don't have it yet. Anyone who says we do is selling something.
API
Application Programming Interface
A menu that lets apps order from other apps. Your weather app uses an API to ask a weather service for the forecast.
Backend
What happens behind the scenes
The behind-the-scenes part of an app — databases, servers, logic. The kitchen to the frontend's dining room.
ChatGPT
The AI tool that started it all
OpenAI's chatbot that made AI mainstream. It's the one your coworkers won't shut up about.
Churn
When customers leave
The rate at which customers cancel their subscriptions. The silent killer of subscription businesses.
Claude
Anthropic's AI — the thoughtful one
Anthropic's AI assistant. Like ChatGPT's more careful, thoughtful cousin who actually reads the whole document.
Claude Code
AI coding in your terminal
Anthropic's coding tool that works in your terminal. Point it at your project and it reads, writes, and edits code for you.
Cloudflare
The internet's bodyguard
A company that protects websites, makes them faster, and hosts them. They sit between your site and the internet like a bouncer.
Copilot
GitHub's AI coding assistant
GitHub's AI that autocompletes your code as you type. Like autocorrect, but for programming. Made by Microsoft.
Cursor
AI-powered code editor
A code editor with AI built in. You describe what you want, it writes the code. The ultimate vibe coding tool.
Database
Where data lives
A structured place to store data. Think of it as a really organized digital filing cabinet that can find anything instantly.
Deep Learning
Neural networks with many layers
Neural networks with lots of layers stacked up. The 'deep' just means there are many layers. That's literally it.
Deploy
Putting your app on the internet
Taking your app from 'works on my computer' to 'works for everyone on the internet.' The moment it gets real.
Fine-tuning
Teaching AI to specialize
Taking a general AI and training it to be an expert at one specific thing. Like teaching a general practitioner to be a heart surgeon.
Framework
Pre-built code scaffolding
Pre-built code that gives you a head start. Like buying a house with the foundation already poured instead of starting from dirt.
Frontend
What users see and click
The part of an app you can see — buttons, text, images, colors. If you can click it or look at it, it's frontend.
GitHub
Where code lives
Social media for code. It's where developers store, share, and collaborate on software projects. Owned by Microsoft.
GPT
Generative Pre-trained Transformer
The model family behind ChatGPT. It's the engine — ChatGPT is the car you drive.
Hallucination
When AI makes stuff up
When AI confidently tells you something that's completely wrong. Like that friend who never admits they don't know.
LLM
Large Language Model
The brain behind ChatGPT. It read the entire internet and now it guesses what word comes next. Really, really well.
MRR
Monthly Recurring Revenue
How much money your subscription business makes every month like clockwork. The number that makes investors excited.
MVP
Minimum Viable Product
The 'good enough to test' version of your product. Ship the skateboard, not the half-built car.
Neural Network
Loosely inspired by brains
A computer system loosely inspired by how brain cells connect. It's how AI learns patterns. Don't worry — it's not actually a brain.
No-Code / Low-Code
Building without writing code
Tools that let you build apps by dragging, dropping, and clicking instead of writing code. Like Squarespace but for apps.
Open Source
Free code anyone can use
Software where the code is public and free. Anyone can use it, modify it, and learn from it. Most of the internet runs on it.
Product-Market Fit
When people actually want what you built
The magical moment when people want your product so badly they'd be upset if you took it away. The hardest thing in startups.
Prompt
The thing you type into AI
The instruction you give an AI. Better prompts = better answers. It's like asking good questions at a bar.
RAG
Retrieval-Augmented Generation
Teaching AI to Google things before answering you. Reduces the 'making stuff up' problem.
SaaS
Software as a Service
Software you pay for monthly instead of buying once. Netflix for apps. The holy grail of tech businesses.
Supabase
Open-source Firebase alternative
A service that gives you a database, authentication, and storage in one package. The backend you don't have to build.
Token
The chunks AI reads text in
AI doesn't read words — it reads chunks called tokens. Think of them as syllables for robots.
Vercel
Where Next.js apps live
A hosting platform that makes deploying websites stupidly easy. Push your code, boom — it's live.
Vibe Coding
Building apps with AI assistance
Writing code by describing what you want to an AI, then letting it write the actual code. It's how I built my first app.
Windsurf
AI code editor with flow
Another AI code editor, known for smooth multi-file editing. Like Cursor's chill younger sibling.