00Glossary
The words,
without the jargon.
41 terms you’ll hear when you look at AI for your business, each defined in a sentence, then explained with an example.
A
- A2P 10DLC
- A2P 10DLC is the US system for business text messaging from standard 10-digit phone numbers, in which businesses register their brand and messaging campaigns through The Campaign Registry.
- AI agent
- An AI agent is software that uses a language model to pursue a goal over several steps, choosing actions and carrying them out through connected tools.
- AI chatbot
- An AI chatbot is software that holds text conversations on a website, app or messaging channel, using a language model to understand questions and reply in natural language.
- AI growth infrastructure
- AI growth infrastructure is a connected set of AI agents, CRM automation and workflow software that answers every inquiry, follows up every lead and runs routine work against agreed targets.
- AI hallucination
- An AI hallucination is an output from an AI model that sounds fluent and confident but is false, unsupported by its source material, or invented outright.
- AI receptionist
- An AI receptionist is software that answers a business's phone calls in natural conversation, handling common questions, bookings and messages, and transferring calls to staff when needed.
- AI voice agent
- An AI voice agent is software that holds spoken phone conversations, using speech recognition, a language model and speech synthesis to understand callers and act on their requests.
- API (application programming interface)
- An API, or application programming interface, is a defined way for one piece of software to request data or actions from another, using agreed formats and permissions.
- Answering service
- An answering service is a third-party team of human operators who answer a business's phone calls, typically to take messages, book appointments or route urgent calls.
- Automation ROI
- Automation ROI is the return a business gets from an automation, comparing the value of recovered revenue and saved time with the full cost of building and running it.
C
- CRM (customer relationship management)
- A CRM, or customer relationship management system, is software that keeps a business's contacts, conversations and deals in one place so the team can track and act on them.
- Call recording consent
- Call recording consent is the permission the law requires before a phone call is recorded: from at least one participant in some jurisdictions, from every participant in others.
- Conversational AI
- Conversational AI is the group of technologies, including speech recognition, language models and speech synthesis, that lets software understand people and respond to them in natural language.
- Core Web Vitals
- Core Web Vitals are three Google metrics for a web page's real-world user experience: how fast it loads, how quickly it responds, and how stable its layout stays.
- Cost per lead (CPL)
- Cost per lead (CPL) is the marketing spend for a channel or campaign divided by the number of leads it produced in the same period.
- Cross-platform app
- A cross-platform app is a mobile app built from one shared codebase that runs on both iOS and Android, instead of two separate apps written for each platform.
D
- Database reactivation
- Database reactivation is the practice of contacting past leads and customers already in a business's records to restart conversations and win new bookings or sales.
F
- First response time
- First response time is the time between a customer's first message, call or ticket and the business's first reply, whether from a person or an AI agent.
- Follow-up sequence
- A follow-up sequence is a planned series of messages and calls to a lead or customer at set intervals, stopping when they reply, book, buy or opt out.
G
- Generative engine optimization (GEO)
- Generative engine optimization (GEO) is the work of making a business easy for AI assistants and AI search features to find, describe accurately and cite in their answers.
H
- Headless CMS
- A headless CMS is a content management system without a built-in website: your team edits content in it, and an API delivers that content to any site or app.
- Human handoff
- Human handoff is the point where an AI agent passes a conversation to a person, ideally with enough context that the customer does not have to repeat themselves.
I
- IVR (interactive voice response)
- IVR, or interactive voice response, is a phone system that greets callers with recorded prompts and routes them based on keypad presses or short spoken answers.
- Intelligent document processing (IDP)
- Intelligent document processing (IDP) uses AI to read documents such as invoices, forms and emails, extract the data that matters, check it and send it to the right system.
L
- Large language model (LLM)
- A large language model (LLM) is an AI system trained on very large amounts of text to predict likely next words, which lets it write, summarize and interpret language.
- Lead management system (LMS)
- A lead management system (LMS) is software that captures every new inquiry, routes it to the right person and tracks follow-up until each lead is won or lost.
- Lead qualification
- Lead qualification is the process of deciding whether a prospect fits what a business offers and is likely to buy, based on criteria such as need, budget, timing and authority.
- Lead scoring
- Lead scoring is a method of ranking leads by assigning points for traits and behaviors that indicate how likely each lead is to become a customer.
- Local SEO
- Local SEO is the work of helping a business appear in map results and location-based searches, such as 'plumber near me', in the area it serves.
M
- Missed-call text back
- Missed-call text back is an automation that texts a caller soon after their call goes unanswered, inviting them to continue the conversation by text message.
O
- Omnichannel inbox
- An omnichannel inbox is a single workspace that collects customer conversations from phone, text, email, web chat and social messaging into one thread per customer.
R
- Retrieval-augmented generation (RAG)
- Retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) is a method in which an AI system first finds relevant passages in a set of documents, then uses them as context to write its answer.
- Robotic process automation (RPA)
- Robotic process automation (RPA) is software that repeats the clicks and keystrokes a person would make in other applications, so repetitive, rules-based computer tasks run without anyone at the keyboard.
S
- Sales pipeline
- A sales pipeline is the series of stages a potential deal moves through, from first inquiry to won or lost, used to track opportunities and forecast revenue.
- Schema markup (structured data)
- Schema markup is code on a web page that labels its key facts, such as opening hours or a product's price, in a standard vocabulary that search engines read.
- Search engine optimization
- Search engine optimization (SEO) is the work of making a website easy for search engines to find and understand, so it can appear when people search for what it offers.
- Show rate
- Show rate is the percentage of booked appointments that customers actually attend, calculated as appointments attended divided by appointments scheduled for the same period.
- Speed to lead
- Speed to lead is the time between a prospect's inquiry and the business's first meaningful response, usually measured in minutes from the moment a form, call or message arrives.
T
- TCPA (Telephone Consumer Protection Act)
- The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) is a 1991 US federal law that restricts telemarketing and calls or texts made with autodialers or artificial or prerecorded voices.
W
- Webhook
- A webhook is an automatic message one application sends to a web address you choose the moment a specific event happens, so another system can react immediately.
- Workflow automation
- Workflow automation is the use of software to carry out a sequence of business tasks automatically, started by an event and following defined rules, with people handling the exceptions.
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