--- title: "What is AI, in plain English · Lenexa Learn" description: "A plain-English explanation of what people mean by AI, what a chat tool actually does, and what it is bad at." url: https://www.lenexa.ai/learn/guides/what-is-ai/ site: "Lenexa Learn" --- Guide # What is AI, in plain English AI, in plain English, is software that can do some tasks that used to need a person, such as drafting a letter, summarizing notes, or explaining a topic. The chat tools most people try are good with language. They are not a person, and they can be wrong in a confident tone. ## The short version People use the words “AI” for a lot of different software. Right now, in ordinary life, it usually means a chat box that can write, rewrite, explain, or plan. That software is useful when the job is a draft. It is a poor choice when you need a fact you cannot check, a judgment about a person, or a secret kept. ## What a chat tool actually does Most chat tools are built on a [large language model](https://www.lenexa.ai/learn/glossary/large-language-model/). The model was trained on a huge amount of text. When you type, it predicts a likely reply, one small piece of text at a time. That is why the reply can sound human. The tool is good at the shape of an answer. Sounding sure is not the same as being right. When a tool invents a fact, people call that a [hallucination](https://www.lenexa.ai/learn/glossary/hallucination/). Some products add extra steps. They may search the web, read a file you upload, or run code. If yours does that, it should show you. If it does not show a source, do not assume it looked one up. ## What it is good at - Turning a rough note into a cleaner draft. - Explaining a topic in simpler words, so you can go check the real source. - Making a checklist, an outline, or a first pass at a plan. - Practicing a conversation, as long as you supply the facts. You can see examples on the [use-case directory](https://www.lenexa.ai/learn/use-cases/). ## What it is bad at - Knowing what happened in your life, your class, or your business unless you tell it. - Keeping a secret. A chat is stored by the company that runs the tool, under that company’s rules. - Fair judgments about a student, a customer, a patient, or a job candidate. - Current facts, prices, laws, and medical decisions, unless you confirm them somewhere else. - Doing the sending, paying, or signing for you. If a tool offers to take those steps, that is an [AI agent](https://www.lenexa.ai/learn/glossary/ai-agent/). Keep a person in charge. ## A simple way to try it Pick one low-stakes job. A messy list. A too-long email. A paragraph you want in plainer words. Say what you want, who it is for, and what “done” looks like. That instruction is a [prompt](https://www.lenexa.ai/learn/glossary/prompt/). Read the result. Fix it. If the result is wrong, say what is wrong and ask again, or throw it away. You do not need a special course to start. You do need the habit of checking. ## Your information The text used to train a model is called [training data](https://www.lenexa.ai/learn/glossary/training-data/). Your chat is a later step. It is still not a diary. Some products use chats to improve the service unless you turn that off. The switch is in the product’s settings, and the wording changes. Before you paste something, ask: would I be comfortable if this text were stored by a company I do not control? If the answer is no, leave it out. Type a blank like `[amount]` and fill it in after you copy the draft back to your own computer. ## Questions ### Is AI the same thing as a chatbot? No. A chatbot is the chat window you type into. AI is the broader idea. Many chatbots today use a large language model, which is one kind of AI. ### Does an AI tool know the truth? No. It produces a likely answer from patterns in text. It can be right, partly right, or confidently wrong. Check anything that matters. ### Is it safe to paste private information? Treat a chat box like a message you are sending to a company. Do not paste passwords, bank numbers, medical record numbers, or other people's private details. The daily email ## Get 5 AI use cases every morning A short morning email with five things AI can help with, picked for the groups you choose. It's free, we don't sell anything on this list, and every email has an unsubscribe link.