Fundamental Concept
AI Agent
A software program that performs tasks autonomously on behalf of a user or another program. AI employees are a specific, advanced type of agent designed for professional work contexts.
AI Theory
Artificial General Intelligence (AGI)
A hypothetical type of AI that possesses the ability to understand, learn, and apply knowledge across a wide range of tasks at a level equivalent to human intelligence.
Core Concept
Automation
The use of technology to perform tasks with minimal human intervention. AI employees represent a shift from simple, rule-based automation to complex, cognitive automation.
General Term
Bot (Robot)
A general term for a software application that performs automated tasks. While often used interchangeably, an "AI employee" implies a higher degree of sophistication.
Advanced Concept
Cognitive Automation
Automation that goes beyond repetitive manual tasks to include functions that require human-like judgment, perception, and reasoning.
Application
Co-pilot
A popular metaphor for an AI tool that assists a human worker in real-time, suggesting actions, generating content, or providing information.
Advanced Concept
Digital Twin
A highly advanced concept where an AI model is trained to mimic the knowledge, decision-making patterns, and communication style of a specific human employee.
Industry Term
Digital Worker
A synonym for AI employee, often used by enterprise software companies to describe software bots designed to automate complex business processes.
System Design
Human-in-the-Loop (HITL)
A system design where an AI employee handles most of a task but defers to a human for critical decisions, exceptions, or oversight.
Technology
Intelligent Process Automation (IPA)
The combination of Robotic Process Automation (RPA) with AI technologies to create end-to-end business process automation.
Social Impact
Job Displacement
The phenomenon where human roles are reduced or eliminated because tasks are automated by AI employees and other technologies.
Technology
Large Language Model (LLM)
A type of AI trained on vast amounts of text data. LLMs are the foundational technology for most current AI employees that involve language.
Core Technology
Machine Learning (ML)
A subset of AI that enables systems to learn and improve from experience without being explicitly programmed for every task.
Technology
Natural Language Processing (NLP)
A field of AI that gives machines the ability to read, understand, and derive meaning from human language.
AI Theory
Narrow AI (or Weak AI)
AI that is designed and trained for a specific, narrow task. All currently existing AI employees are forms of Narrow AI.
System Design
Orchestration
The coordination and management of multiple AI employees, traditional software systems, and human workers to execute complex processes.
Technology
Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
A precursor to the modern AI employee. Uses "software robots" to mimic repetitive, rule-based human interactions with digital systems.
System Design
Skill-Based Routing
The process of automatically assigning a task to the most appropriate AI employee or human worker based on the specific skills required.
Delivery Model
Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)
The primary delivery model for AI employees. Companies typically subscribe to access these tools via the cloud.
Technique
Task Mining
A technique that uses data capture on user workstations to identify and analyze business processes that are candidates for automation.
Conceptual Framework
Turing Test
A test of a machine's ability to exhibit intelligent behavior equivalent to, or indistinguishable from, that of a human.
Technology
Unsupervised Learning
A type of machine learning where an AI model finds hidden patterns or intrinsic structures in input data without being labeled by humans.