Artificial intelligence (AI): The general set of technologies that use advanced computing to perform tasks. Neural networks, machine learning, LLMs—these are all developments that belong under the AI umbrella. While generative AI is a subset of AI, when we say AI we don’t necessarily mean tools that generate content. The history of AI dates back to the 20th century, but advancements beginning in the 1960s led to the capabilities that are available today.
Related: A generative AI guide for brands
Chatbots: The programs running inside messaging apps and on websites that help consumers perform simple tasks. Chatbots were popularized by apps like Facebook Messenger, and they operate like apps within the messaging services. The recent boom in generative AI bots like ChatGPT and Bard will enable these services to be far more advanced and human-sounding.
ChatGPT: A generative AI bot created by OpenAI, which uses GPT technology (see below) to produce an output based on an input. The platform was trained on vast quantities of text taken from websites, articles, books and other sources. It launched publicly at the end of 2022 and quickly exploded in popularity due to its vast array of capabilities, from screenwriting to joke-telling to disseminating knowledge on basically any topic under the sun.
Related: ChatGPT writes Super Bowl ads
Clusters: A fancy word for a group of people—or anything—sharing a common characteristic. AI programs can identify clusters within mountains of data, uncovering patterns that humans alone can’t perceive or connections that people wouldn't draw. Clusters can lead to developing audiences or segments for marketing purposes, creating a group of people with common traits and targeting them with ads.
DALL-E: Another generative AI bot created by OpenAI, though its function is in generating images. Like ChatGPT, a user queries the bot with an input (e.g. “Ronald McDonald swimming in a river of fire”) and out comes a corresponding image. The first version of DALL-E launched in January 2021 and its more advanced successor, DALL-E 2, launched in April 2022. This latest version can produce a larger array of images, and even in a diversity of styles (e.g. “Ronald McDonald swimming in a river of fire, in the style of Norman Rockwell”).