ai words, in plain english.

a little dictionary for the over-50s · every term explained kindly · no hurry

the hardest part of ai isn’t the technology — it’s the wall of jargon around it, built as if to keep ordinary people out. this page is the door: every word you keep hearing, explained kindly, in plain english.

account

your personal door into a tool or website, opened with your email address and a password. one account, one door — and you’re the one holding the key.

ai (artificial intelligence)

computer programs that can do things we used to think only people could — write, answer questions, make pictures. most people just say “ai”, and that’s all you ever need to say.

app

a program on your phone or tablet. you tap its little picture (its “icon”) to open it, and that’s the whole trick.

app store

the shop on your phone or tablet where apps come from — the “app store” on an iphone or ipad, the “play store” on most others. plenty of good apps are free, and nothing is ever charged without your clear say-so.

browser

the program you use to visit websites — safari, chrome and edge are the common ones. you almost certainly use one every day without ever needing to know its name.

chatbot

any ai you can have a typed conversation with: you write a message, it writes back, and you can go back and forth as long as you like. chatgpt is the famous one, but there are several, and they all work much the same way.

chatgpt

the best-known chatbot, made by a company called openai — free to try, on its website or as an app. the name is clumsy, but the tool is friendly: you ask in ordinary words, and it answers in kind.

the cloud

not in the sky — just other people’s computers, kept safe in big buildings, holding your photos and files so any of your devices can reach them. “in the cloud” simply means saved out there, as well as (or instead of) on the device in your hand.

deepfake

a fake video or voice recording made by ai to look or sound like a real person. they can be convincing, so the defence is old-fashioned: if something feels off, check through a separate, trusted channel before you believe or act.

download

to copy something from the internet onto your own device — a photo, a document, an app. remember it as “down to you”.

generate

when ai makes something new for you — a piece of writing, or a picture — from your description. you describe, it drafts, and you decide what to keep.

hallucination

the odd word for when ai confidently states something untrue. it isn’t lying on purpose — it’s guessing wrong while sounding sure — so always check anything that matters.

icon

the little picture you tap to open an app. that’s truly all it is.

log in / sign in

using your email and password to get into your account, like unlocking your own front door. “log out” or “sign out” closes the door behind you.

prompt

the message you type to ai — your request or question. a “good prompt” just means asking clearly, the way you’d ask a helpful person across the table.

restore (a photo)

to repair an old, damaged or faded photograph so it looks clear again — always working on a copy, never the original.

scam

a dishonest trick to get your money or details. scams rely on urgency, fear, and asking for money or access — so slow down, give nothing, and check through a channel you trust.

screen / display

the glass front of your device, where you see and tap things. two words for the same thing.

smart speaker

a small speaker that listens for your voice and talks back — “alexa” and “google nest” are the common ones. handy for the time, the weather, a song or a kitchen timer, with no typing and no screen at all.

upload

to send something from your device to a website or tool — say, a photo you’d like restored. the opposite of a download: away from you, rather than down to you.

voice / tone (your own)

the way your writing sounds like you. good ai help keeps it, so the words stay warm and recognisably yours — never machine-flavoured.

wi-fi vs data

two roads to the same internet. wi-fi is the connection at home (or the café, or the library) and costs nothing extra to use; data is the connection your phone carries everywhere with it, counted against your monthly plan.

if a word on this page has been the wall between you and having a go, consider the door open. book a free twenty-minute chat — no charge, no pressure, and no such thing as a daft question.

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