Concept / Term · New (AI-era)

Token

How AI text is measured

What does Token mean?

The small chunks of text an AI model reads and writes, roughly three-quarters of a word each. Usage and API pricing are counted in tokens.

Mind the context

In technology

The chunk of text an AI model reads and writes, and the unit of AI pricing.

In business

A credential such as an API token or security token, used to prove identity.

Keep exploring

AI / MLAI is software that performs tasks normally needing human intelligence; ML is the main technique, where systems learn patterns from data.
LLMThe kind of AI, trained on huge amounts of text, that powers chatbots and coding assistants such as ChatGPT and Claude.
PromptThe text you send to an AI model. 'Prompt engineering' is the craft of wording and structuring that instruction to get reliable results.
Context WindowThe maximum amount of text a model can consider at once, covering your input and its reply. Exceed it and the earliest material drops out.
HallucinationWhen an AI model produces something plausible-sounding but factually incorrect. The main reason AI output needs checking before it is relied on.
RAGA technique that feeds an AI model your own up-to-date documents at the moment of a question, so its answers stay accurate and grounded.
Fine-tuningFurther training an existing AI model on your own data so it better suits a specific task, tone or domain.
AI Agent / AgenticAn AI system that does not just answer, but carries out multi-step tasks using tools, such as reading files, calling APIs or sending messages. This is why approval controls on what an agent may do matter.