Glossary

AI Tool

Software that uses machine-learning models to generate text, images, code, or analysis.

Definition

An AI tool is any application built on a machine-learning model — usually a large language model (LLM) for text or a diffusion model for images. The most visible examples are chat assistants, image generators, transcription services, and code-completion plugins.

Privacy considerations are real: by default, your prompts and uploads may be processed by the provider and sometimes used to improve the model. Read the data-handling section of any AI tool you use for work — the differences between free and paid tiers can be significant.

Example

You paste a draft email into a chat assistant and ask it to make the tone more concise. The assistant returns a rewritten version; the provider may log the conversation for safety review or training, depending on the tool.

Frequently asked questions

Are AI tools private?

It depends on the tool and tier. Look for explicit 'we don't train on your data' commitments and zero-retention options.

Should I paste confidential data into an AI tool?

Only into tools whose data-handling policy and contract you've actually read.