Glossary

Plain-word definitions of the AI terms used across the Academy, from Claude to ChatGPT and Copilot. No jargon, just clear explanations to use at work.

107 terms

Add contentCopilotThe option in Copilot Chat, and on a Page, to bring a specific file, link or piece of work content into your prompt instead of relying on a broad search.
Advanced analysisCopilotA Copilot in Excel mode that writes and runs Python against your workbook data in a new sheet, so you can see and check the method behind the answer.
AgentCore conceptAI that doesn't just answer, but takes steps to finish a task: using tools and working through several stages on its own.
Agent BuilderCopilotThe no-code tool inside Microsoft 365 Copilot that packages a repeatable task into your own agent, with written instructions and chosen knowledge sources.
Agent flowCopilotA rule-based automation in Copilot Studio that starts on a trigger and runs one or more actions, either on its own or as a tool an agent calls.
AGENTS.mdChatGPTA plain Markdown file in a project that Codex reads before it starts, holding standing instructions like which tests to run and which conventions to follow.
AnalystCopilotA built-in Microsoft 365 Copilot agent that analyses spreadsheets and data by writing and running Python code you can see and check.
AnonymisationSafetyRemoving or masking the details that identify people, so data can be used or shared without exposing anyone.
App (ChatGPT)ChatGPTA connection between ChatGPT and an outside service, like your email, files, or calendar, so it can read live information and, if you allow it, act there.
ArtifactClaudeA piece of work Claude builds in its own panel, a document, table, chart, or small app, that you can keep, edit, and reuse.
Artificial intelligenceCore conceptSoftware that learns to do a task from examples, instead of following step-by-step rules a person wrote by hand.
AutomationCore conceptSetting up a repeatable job once so it runs on its own, instead of you doing the same steps by hand every time.
Autonomous agentCopilotA Copilot Studio agent with its own account that can start steps in a process by itself, instead of waiting for someone to prompt it.
ChatClaudeOne back-and-forth conversation with Claude, saved on its own, holding everything you have said and everything it has replied in that thread.
Chat (ChatGPT)ChatGPTOne conversation thread in ChatGPT: everything you asked and everything it answered, saved on its own in your Recents.
Chat historyCopilotThe list of your saved Copilot conversations, which you can reopen, rename or delete, with each Copilot surface keeping its own separate history.
ChatGPTToolsOpenAI's AI chatbot, the tool that put generative AI in front of everyone. A capable, general-purpose assistant.
ChatGPT BusinessChatGPTOpenAI's plan for teams: a shared workspace with admin controls, where your company's data is not used to train OpenAI's models by default.
ChatGPT for PowerPointChatGPTAn add-in that puts ChatGPT in a sidebar inside PowerPoint, to draft decks from your material and add or revise slides in place.
ChatGPT ImagesChatGPTCreating and editing pictures in ChatGPT from a description, from illustrations and diagrams to product shots, with targeted edits by area.
ChatGPT PagesChatGPTDocuments in ChatGPT's Space that you can keep, share, and edit together with colleagues and ChatGPT.
ChatGPT SitesChatGPTSmall interactive websites and apps that ChatGPT builds and hosts for you, from dashboards to trackers, shared with a link.
ChatGPT WorkChatGPTChatGPT's agent for multi-step tasks: it plans, works through the steps across files and apps, and hands you a finished document, sheet, deck, report, or Site.
ClaudeClaudeClaude is the AI assistant made by Anthropic: you chat with it in plain language and it helps with writing, analysis, and more.
Claude CodeClaudeAnthropic's AI coding agent that works in your terminal: it reads the files in your project, proposes changes you approve, and runs the build-and-test loop with you.
Claude DesignClaudeA tool for making things you can see (prototypes, slides, one-pagers, pages) by describing them in a chat and refining the result on a canvas beside it.
CodexChatGPTChatGPT's agent for code: it works in a folder or repository, makes changes, runs tests, and shows every change as a diff for you to review.
ConnectorClaudeA bridge that links Claude to an outside app, so it can pull in data (read) and do things back (act) without you copying between tools.
ContextCore conceptThe background you give an AI, who you are, what you are doing, and what matters, so its answer fits your real situation.
Context windowCore conceptThe limited space that holds everything Claude is working with right now: your files plus the whole conversation, all measured in tokens.
Copilot connectorCopilotAn admin-deployed link that brings content from an outside system, such as ServiceNow, Salesforce or Jira, into Microsoft Graph so Copilot can find it.
Copilot CreditsCopilotThe unit Microsoft uses to bill Copilot Studio usage, measuring the effort an agent or flow spends retrieving information, answering and running actions.
Copilot in PowerPointCopilotThe Copilot built into PowerPoint that drafts a deck from a prompt, a document or your own template, then rewrites slides and speaker notes on request.
Copilot NotebooksCopilotCopilot Notebooks are scoped workspaces in Microsoft 365 Copilot where Copilot answers only from the files, Pages and other sources you added to the notebook.
Copilot PagesCopilotCopilot Pages turn a Copilot Chat answer into a persistent, editable document that you can keep working on and co-edit live with colleagues.
Copilot StudioCopilotMicrosoft's low-code studio for building agents and the automations around them, for when an Agent Builder agent needs branching logic, connectors or a trigger.
CoworkClaudeA mode where Claude works directly on files in a folder you connect, reading them and building finished deliverables in place, not just answering in chat.
Create presentation from fileCopilotA Copilot in PowerPoint option that turns a Word document, or a PDF with a work licence, into a draft deck with slides, layouts, speaker notes and a theme.
Custom instructionsClaudeA standing note about who you are and how you want Claude to respond, saved once and applied to every chat automatically.
Custom instructions (ChatGPT)ChatGPTA standing note about who you are and how you want ChatGPT to respond, applied to every chat unless a project says otherwise.
Data controlsChatGPTThe settings that decide what happens to your chats: whether they may be used to improve OpenAI's models, and how your history is kept.
Deep researchChatGPTA ChatGPT mode that plans an investigation, reads many sources, and writes a detailed, cited report for a question that needs real research.
DiffChatGPTA line-by-line view of what changed in a file: removed lines in red, added lines in green.
DotsChatGPTOpenAI's always-on agents: each has its own cloud computer, keeps working towards a goal, learns from your feedback, and checks in with you.
Email coachingCopilotA Copilot feature in Outlook that reviews your draft email before you send it and suggests improvements to tone, clarity and how the reader is likely to feel.
Enterprise tierSafetyThe business plan of an AI tool. Unlike consumer plans, it typically does not train on your data by default and runs under a formal data agreement.
Event triggerChatGPTA start signal for a ChatGPT task that fires when something happens in a connected app: a new Gmail message, a Slack channel message, or GitHub pull request activity.
Extended thinkingClaudeA setting that lets Claude work through a hard problem step by step before it answers, trading a little speed for a better result.
FacilitatorCopilotA pre-built Copilot agent in Microsoft Teams that helps run a scheduled meeting: it keeps shared AI notes, tracks the agenda and captures follow-up tasks.
GDPRSafetyThe EU's data protection law. It sets rules for how organisations collect, store, and use people's personal data, with real penalties for getting it wrong.
GeminiToolsGoogle's AI assistant, woven into Search, Workspace, and Android. Strong at Google-ecosystem tasks and multimodal work.
Generative AICore conceptAI that creates new content, text, images, or code, by predicting what should come next from patterns it has learned.
GroundingCopilotGrounding is how Copilot adds relevant content from your work data to your prompt before the model sees it, so answers draw on your actual mail, files and chats.
HallucinationCore conceptWhen AI states something false as if it were true. It predicts fluent text, so a wrong answer can still sound confident.
HarnessCopilotThe runtime in Copilot Studio that sits between what you build and the AI model, deciding when to call the model, what to send it and which tools to use.
Human checkpointCopilotIn the Rollo Academy Copilot track, the named step in a playbook where a person checks Copilot's output or makes the decision before the sequence moves on.
Intelligent RecapCopilotThe AI-powered recap of a Teams meeting, with notes, follow-up tasks and timeline markers, available with Teams Premium or a Microsoft 365 Copilot licence.
IterationPromptingImproving an answer step by step with short follow-ups, steering the AI toward what you want instead of expecting the first reply to be perfect.
Knowledge sourceCopilotA file, site, chat or web page you deliberately give a Copilot agent or notebook to read from, so its answers draw on that material.
Large language modelCore conceptThe kind of AI behind chat tools: trained on huge amounts of text, it generates answers by predicting the next word, over and over.
Machine learningCore conceptThe main way modern AI is built: the system learns patterns from many examples rather than being handed explicit rules.
MarkdownUnder the hoodA simple way to format plain text with a few symbols, like ** for bold and # for a heading, that both people and AI read easily.
Maturity ladderCopilotIn the Rollo Academy Copilot track, the three stages a playbook moves through, ad hoc, documented and semi-automated, where the right stage depends on how often you do the job.
MCP (Model Context Protocol)Under the hoodThe Model Context Protocol: an open standard that lets any AI tool connect to any app through one shared plug, instead of a custom link each time.
Meeting transcriptCopilotThe written, word-for-word record of a Teams meeting, with each speaker's name and a timestamp, which Copilot draws on to summarise the meeting and answer questions about it.
Memory (ChatGPT)ChatGPTWhat ChatGPT remembers about you between chats: saved memories and what it picks up from your chat history.
Microsoft 365 CopilotCopilotThe paid Microsoft 365 add-on that puts Copilot inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams and grounds its answers in your own mail, files and meetings.
Microsoft 365 Copilot ChatCopilotThe Copilot chat included at no extra cost with an eligible Microsoft 365 work account, giving web-grounded answers with citations under enterprise data protection.
Microsoft CopilotToolsMicrosoft's AI assistant, built into Windows and Microsoft 365 apps like Word, Excel, and Outlook.
Microsoft DesignerCopilotMicrosoft's standalone web app for generating and editing images and graphics from a text prompt, which you then drop into PowerPoint, Word, Outlook, Teams or OneNote.
Microsoft GraphCopilotMicrosoft Graph is Microsoft's umbrella term for your work data in Microsoft 365, such as mail, calendar, files and chats, which Copilot grounds its answers in.
ModelCore conceptThe trained system that actually produces the answers. Claude comes in several models that trade speed for power.
Model (ChatGPT)ChatGPTThe trained system that produces ChatGPT's answers. You pick how hard it thinks with the thinking level, not by learning model names.
On-canvas Copilot menuCopilotThe Copilot menu above a slide in PowerPoint, where you start a deck from a prompt by first reviewing a topic list, and later refine what Copilot drafted.
PerplexityToolsAn AI answer engine: it searches the web in real time and answers with citations, so you can check where each claim came from.
Personal dataSafetyAny information that can identify a living person, directly or combined with other data, from a name or email to a location or ID number.
PlaybookCore conceptA repeatable recipe that chains several steps into one finished outcome, so a whole job runs the same way every time instead of being pieced together by hand.
Plugin (ChatGPT)ChatGPTA package that adds a workflow to ChatGPT, bundling one or more skills, app connections, or both.
ProjectClaudeA home for one piece of ongoing work that keeps files, instructions, and chats together, so every new chat starts already briefed.
Project (ChatGPT)ChatGPTA home in ChatGPT for one piece of ongoing work, keeping its files, instructions, and chats together so every new chat starts briefed.
PromptPromptingThe instruction you give an AI. The clearer and more complete the prompt, the better the answer you get back.
Prompt engineeringPromptingThe skill of writing clear, complete instructions so an AI gives you a useful answer. Less a dark art, more a repeatable recipe.
Prompt injectionChatGPTHidden instructions in outside content, like a web page or email, that try to make an AI agent do something you never asked for.
Quick responseCopilotA Copilot Chat mode that answers immediately, meant for everyday lookups and drafting that do not need deeper reasoning.
ResearcherCopilotA built-in Microsoft 365 Copilot agent that turns a detailed question into a structured, cited report drawn from your work content and the public web.
SandboxChatGPTA boundary that limits which files and network resources an AI agent can reach, so it can work without free rein over your computer.
Scheduled taskClaudeWork you describe once that Claude then runs on its own, on a set cadence or on demand, handing you finished output like a briefing, report, or summary.
Scheduled task (ChatGPT)ChatGPTWork you describe once that ChatGPT runs on its own: once, on a schedule, while watching for a change, or when an email, Slack message, or pull request arrives.
Semantic indexCopilotThe semantic index is the search layer Copilot uses to find relevant content in your Microsoft 365 data by meaning, not only by matching the exact words.
SkillClaudeA small, reusable package of instructions (sometimes with templates or scripts) that teaches Claude to do one task the same way every time.
Skill (ChatGPT)ChatGPTA packaged set of instructions, sometimes with examples or code, that makes ChatGPT do one repeatable task the same way every time.
Temporary ChatChatGPTA ChatGPT chat that doesn't appear in your history, doesn't use or create memories, and isn't used to train models.
Tenant permissionsCopilotThe sharing and access settings across your organisation's Microsoft 365 environment that decide which mail, files and sites each person can open, and so what Copilot can surface.
TerminalUnder the hoodA text-based window where you control your computer by typing commands, one line at a time, instead of clicking buttons and menus.
Think DeeperCopilotA Copilot Chat mode that takes up to around ten seconds to reason more thoroughly through multi-step or ambiguous questions before it answers.
Thinking levelChatGPTThe dial in ChatGPT that sets how long it reasons before answering, from Instant for everyday work up to Pro for the hardest jobs.
TokenUnder the hoodA chunk of text the AI reads and counts, roughly three-quarters of a word. Tokens drive limits, cost, and speed.
Toolkit inventoryCopilotIn the Rollo Academy Copilot track, the overview of every Copilot feature the track covers, used to pick the two to four features a playbook actually needs.
TrainingUnder the hoodThe process where a model learns patterns from huge amounts of text, building the knowledge it later uses, fixed at a cut-off date.
TriggerCopilotThe event that starts an agent flow in Copilot Studio: a manual run, a recurring schedule, or something happening elsewhere, such as an incoming email or an agent's call.
Version historyCopilotThe record of earlier saved versions of a Copilot Page, so you can see how it changed and restore an earlier version when an edit goes wrong.
Web groundingCopilotCopilot basing its answer on current web search results and citing them, something Copilot Chat often does by default without you asking.
Web searchClaudeA setting that lets Claude look things up on the internet, so it can answer with current information and link its sources.
Web search (ChatGPT)ChatGPTChatGPT looking things up on the internet so it can answer with current information, with links to the sources it used.
Work IQCopilotThe intelligence layer that lets Microsoft 365 Copilot and its agents reason over your organisation's mail, calendar, files, chats and meetings, within the permissions you already have.
WorkflowCopilotA drag-and-drop automation in Copilot Studio, newer than agent flows, where each step can reason as well as act, combining agents, tools and logic in one flow.
Writing blockChatGPTAn editable block in a ChatGPT chat where a draft lives, so you and ChatGPT can change parts of it without rewriting the whole thing.