AI Without the Jargon | Models, Prompts, Agents & Workflows
Let’s be honest.
If you’ve ever sat in a meeting where someone confidently said:
“We need to leverage AI agents powered by large language models…”
…there’s a good chance you nodded along while secretly wondering what half of those words actually meant.
You’re certainly not alone.
AI has become one of the biggest topics in business, yet much of the language surrounding it can feel unnecessarily complicated. Models. Prompts. Agents. Workflows. LLMs. Copilot. Generative AI.
The terminology is enough to make many business owners switch off before the conversation has even started.
The truth is, these concepts are much simpler than they sound.
In this new series, AI Without the Jargon, we’ll explain the terminology behind artificial intelligence in plain English, helping you understand what matters, what doesn’t, and how AI can genuinely improve the way your business works.
Let’s start with the basics.
What Is an AI Model?
This is probably the phrase you’ll hear more than any other.
But what actually is an AI model?
The easiest way to think about it is this:
The AI model is the brain.
It’s the technology that’s been trained to understand language, recognise patterns, answer questions and generate content.
You don’t actually use the model directly.
Instead, it’s built into products like:
- Microsoft Copilot
- ChatGPT
- Claude
- Google Gemini
Those products are simply different ways of accessing an AI model.
Think of it like this.
You don’t buy an engine.
You buy a car that happens to contain one.
The model is the engine.
Microsoft Copilot or ChatGPT is the car.
What Is a Prompt?
A prompt is simply your instruction to the AI.
It’s the question you ask.
Or the task you want completed.
For example:
“Summarise this Teams meeting.”
That’s a prompt.
Or:
“Write a professional email declining a meeting.”
Also a prompt.
The better your instructions, the better the results.
A vague prompt might produce an average answer.
A detailed prompt usually produces a much better one.
It’s no different from asking a colleague to help with a task.
The clearer your brief, the better the outcome.
What Is a Chat?
A chat is simply an ongoing conversation with AI.
Rather than asking one question and starting again every time, you continue building on previous responses.
For example:
You might begin by asking AI to summarise a meeting.
Then ask it to:
- Create an action list.
- Draft a follow-up email.
- Rewrite that email in a more professional tone.
- Turn it into a customer proposal.
Because the AI remembers the conversation, each response becomes more relevant.
This is why tools like Microsoft Copilot feel much more like working with an assistant than using a search engine.
What Is an AI Agent?
This is probably the term causing the most confusion right now.
An AI agent isn’t simply another chatbot.
It’s AI that’s been given a specific job.
Rather than waiting for instructions every time, an agent can carry out repeatable tasks on your behalf.
Imagine having a member of staff whose only responsibility was:
- Chasing overdue invoices
- Producing weekly reports
- Monitoring stock levels
- Summarising customer feedback
That’s essentially what an AI agent is designed to do.
It follows instructions, understands context and completes a defined process automatically.
For many businesses, AI agents are likely to become one of the biggest productivity tools over the next few years.
What Is a Workflow?
This is where AI starts becoming genuinely valuable.
A workflow is simply the series of steps needed to complete a task.
Take a typical meeting.
Normally someone has to:
- Attend the meeting
- Take notes
- Write up actions
- Email attendees
- Update project documents
- Schedule follow-up work
With Microsoft Copilot, much of that workflow can be accelerated.
It can:
- Summarise the meeting.
- Identify key decisions.
- Create an action list.
- Draft the follow-up email.
- Suggest next steps.
None of those tasks disappear entirely.
But they happen much faster.
That’s where businesses often see the biggest productivity gains.
Why Does This Matter to Business Owners?
You don’t need to become an AI expert.
But understanding the terminology helps you ask much better questions.
Instead of asking:
“Should we buy AI?”
You can ask:
- Which repetitive tasks could AI help with?
- Would Microsoft Copilot benefit our team?
- Are our staff already using AI?
- Do we have an AI policy?
- Is our hardware capable of supporting AI?
Those are commercial questions.
Not technical ones.
AI Is Already Being Used in Most Businesses
One of the biggest misconceptions is that AI is still something businesses are considering.
The reality is very different.
Recent research shows:
- 68% of employees are already using AI tools through personal accounts.
- 57% admit entering sensitive business information into AI tools.
- 81% say they use AI applications that haven’t been approved by their employer.
For most organisations, the question is no longer:
“Will our employees use AI?”
It’s:
“How can we help them use it safely?”
Microsoft Copilot vs ChatGPT
This is another question we hear regularly.
Both are excellent AI tools.
The difference is how they fit into your business.
ChatGPT is a standalone AI assistant.
Microsoft Copilot is designed to work inside the Microsoft 365 applications your team already uses every day.
That means it can help with:
- Outlook
- Word
- Excel
- PowerPoint
- Teams
- OneDrive
Rather than switching between different applications, AI becomes part of the workflow your employees already know.
For many organisations, that’s where the real productivity gains begin.
AI Doesn’t Replace People
One concern we still hear from business owners is:
“Will AI replace our staff?”
In most cases, no.
The greatest value comes from helping employees spend less time on repetitive administration and more time on work that genuinely requires human judgement.
Think about everything your team does each day that isn’t the job they were actually hired to do.
Writing meeting notes.
Searching for documents.
Formatting reports.
Summarising long emails.
Creating first drafts.
Those are exactly the kinds of tasks AI is exceptionally good at supporting.
So… Where Should Businesses Start?
You don’t need to introduce AI across your entire organisation overnight.
Most successful businesses start by asking a few simple questions.
- Which teams spend the most time on repetitive admin?
- Could Microsoft Copilot improve productivity?
- Are employees already using AI?
- Do we have secure company-approved AI tools?
- Is our hardware ready for AI?
Once those foundations are in place, adopting AI becomes much easier.
SOD-IT Can Help Your Business Prepare for AI
Understanding AI terminology is just the beginning.
At SOD-IT, we help businesses move beyond the buzzwords and implement AI in ways that genuinely improve productivity.
That includes:
- Microsoft Copilot deployment
- AI-ready hardware
- AI governance
- Secure AI adoption
- Microsoft 365 optimisation
- Staff awareness and training
Our goal is simple.
To help businesses understand AI, adopt it securely, and make it part of everyday work without unnecessary complexity.
If you’d like to understand how Microsoft Copilot and AI could benefit your organisation, we’d be happy to help.
📞 0141 488 1533
📧 [email protected]
🌐 www.sod-it.co.uk
Source material adapted from the uploaded draft.
