AI Glossary
A clear, jargon-free guide to the key terms and concepts in AI. Explore the definitions, real-world examples and practical advice to build your confidence and understanding.
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AI Essentials
The core ideas, models and building blocks behind artificial intelligence.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Technology that enables computers to perform tasks associated with human intelligence, such as recognising patterns, understanding language, making predictions and generating content.
Explore definitionGenerative AI
A type of artificial intelligence that creates content such as text, images, audio, video or code in response to instructions or other inputs.
Explore definitionLarge Language Model (LLM)
An AI model trained on large amounts of data to process and generate language, respond to prompts, summarise information and perform other language-related tasks.
Explore definitionAI Model
A system trained to recognise patterns in data and use them for tasks such as making predictions, identifying objects or generating responses.
Explore definitionAI Assistant
An application that helps people complete tasks using AI. It may answer questions, create content, analyse information or interact with other tools.
Explore definitionReasoning Model
An AI model designed or trained for tasks requiring multi-step problem-solving, such as analysing complex questions, planning or working through maths problems.
Explore definitionMultimodal AI
Artificial intelligence that works with more than one type of information, such as text, images, audio or video; some systems also generate several types.
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Using AI
Prompts and AI assistants for getting useful, relevant results.
Prompt
The instruction, question or information you give an AI system to guide its response.
Explore definitionPrompt Engineering
The practice of designing and refining instructions to help an AI system produce more useful, reliable and relevant results.
Explore definitionContext Window
The amount of information an AI model can consider at one time when generating a response, usually measured in tokens.
Explore definitionAI Copilot
An assistant designed to support someone while they work, often within an existing application or workflow.
Explore definitionAI Output
An AI system’s result for a task, such as text, code, a summary, classification, or recommendation, which still needs checking.
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AI Agents & Automation
Systems that use tools and multi-step workflows to help complete tasks.
Generative AI assist (Oracle)
Writing help built into an Oracle HCM page.
Explore definitionAI agent (Oracle)
An assistant you ask, or an agent that carries out steps for you.
Explore definitionAgentic application (Oracle)
A workspace where several agents work together towards one outcome.
Explore definitionFusion Claw
The engine that lets agentic applications run complex work end to end, within limits you set.
Explore definitionPredictive AI (Oracle)
Machine learning that scores, matches or suggests.
Explore definitionAI Agent
A system designed to work towards a goal by deciding what steps to take and, where permitted, using tools or performing actions.
Explore definitionAgentic AI
AI systems that pursue a goal through multiple steps, making decisions about how to proceed and adapting their approach as they work.
Explore definitionTool Calling
When an AI system requests a connected function or service to retrieve information or carry out an operation.
Explore definitionModel Context Protocol (MCP)
An open protocol that standardises how AI applications connect to external tools and sources of information.
Explore definitionAI Workflow
A sequence of steps that uses AI to help complete a task or process. Some steps are automated; others need human input or approval.
Explore definitionHuman-in-the-Loop
Involving a person in an AI-supported process to review, guide, approve or correct an action or decision.
Explore definitionAI Units (Oracle)
Oracle's measure of AI usage in AI Agent Studio, calculated from the tokens an agent uses.
Explore definitionWorkflow (Oracle AI Agent Studio)
An agent built as a set sequence of steps, called nodes, so the same request is handled the same way every time.
Explore definitionNode
One step in a workflow, such as calling a tool, asking a model, checking a condition or waiting for approval.
Explore definitionSupervisor agent (Oracle)
An agent that plans a task and decides which worker agents to use, then brings their answers together.
Explore definitionWorker agent (Oracle)
A specialist agent that does one part of a job for a supervisor agent or workflow.
Explore definitionTopic (Oracle)
Reusable instructions for one area of expertise: what it covers, which tools to use, example questions and guardrails.
Explore definitionSystem prompt
The standing instructions that set an agent's identity, job and rules.
Explore definitionTool (AI agents)
Something an agent can use to look things up or act, such as a document, a database query or an email.
Explore definitionBusiness object (Oracle)
A type of record in Oracle Fusion, such as a worker, an absence or a job, that agents can read or change through a tool.
Explore definitionDeep link
A link that opens a specific page in an application, ready for the person to act.
Explore definitionExternal REST tool (Oracle)
A tool that lets an agent call another system's API over HTTPS.
Explore definitionA2A (Agent2Agent protocol)
An open standard that lets AI agents on different platforms work together.
Explore definitionRuntime File Processor (Oracle)
The tool that lets an agent read files people attach in the chat.
Explore definitionExpression (Oracle AI Agent Studio)
A placeholder in double curly brackets that fills in a value when the agent runs, such as the user's name or today's date.
Explore definitionTrigger
What starts a workflow, such as a webhook call, an incoming email or a schedule.
Explore definitionPermission group (Oracle)
A set of data permissions in the Security Console. AI Agent Studio needs them enabled on custom roles.
Explore definitionDuty role (Oracle)
A group of privileges for a type of task, added to job roles.
Explore definitionCustom role (Oracle)
A role your organisation creates, often by copying a predefined one, so it can be changed.
Explore definitionProfile option (Oracle)
A setting that controls how part of Oracle Fusion behaves, set at Site or other levels.
Explore definitionScheduled process (Oracle)
A background job in Oracle Fusion, run once or on a schedule.
Explore definitionEvaluation set
A list of test questions, the answers you expect and pass marks, used to measure an agent.
Explore definitionGroundedness
Whether an answer sticks to the source content it was given.
Explore definitionLatency
How long an answer takes. P50 is typical; P99 is the slowest one in a hundred.
Explore definitionTrace
A step-by-step record of what an agent did in one conversation.
Explore definitionDebugger (Oracle AI Agent Studio)
The tool for running a workflow step by step and inspecting each node.
Explore definitionPlayground (Oracle AI Agent Studio)
Where you change and test a supervisor agent without affecting the live version.
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How AI Works
The methods AI uses to represent information, retrieve knowledge and generate responses.
Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG)
A technique that helps AI answer using relevant information retrieved from documents, databases or other sources, rather than relying only on training.
Explore definitionEmbeddings
Numerical representations of information, such as words, sentences or images, that help AI systems compare patterns and similarities.
Explore definitionVector Database
A system designed to store and search numerical representations called embeddings, helping applications find items similar in meaning or other characteristics.
Explore definitionFine-Tuning
Taking an existing AI model and training it further on selected examples or data to adapt its behaviour or improve performance on particular tasks.
Explore definitionTokens
Small units of information AI models process. In language models, tokens may represent whole words, parts of words or punctuation.
Explore definitionTraining Data
Information used to teach an AI model patterns; its quality and makeup influence what it does well and where it struggles.
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Trust & Responsibility
Risks, safeguards and governance for using AI thoughtfully and responsibly.
Hallucination
When an AI system generates information that is incorrect, fabricated or unsupported, but presents it as though it were accurate.
Explore definitionAI Bias
When an AI system produces systematically skewed results that may unfairly favour or disadvantage people, groups or outcomes.
Explore definitionGuardrails
Rules, technical controls and safeguards designed to keep an AI system within acceptable boundaries and restrict information access, actions or certain requests.
Explore definitionPrompt Injection
An attempt to manipulate AI by placing instructions inside information it processes, such as a document, webpage or tool response.
Explore definitionAI Governance
The policies, responsibilities, processes and controls an organisation uses to manage how AI is developed, introduced and used.
Explore definitionData Privacy
How personal information is collected, used, shared, stored and protected, including when that information is processed by AI systems.
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AI in Business
How organisations prepare for AI and apply it to real business needs.
AI Readiness
How prepared an organisation is to introduce, use and manage AI effectively, including suitable processes, reliable data, technology, skills and responsibilities.
Explore definitionAI Use Case
A specific situation or business problem where artificial intelligence could be used to achieve a defined outcome.
Explore definitionAutomation vs Augmentation
Automation uses technology to perform tasks with less human involvement; augmentation uses it to support people, improve capabilities or inform decisions.
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