Building with AI

RAG (retrieval-augmented generation)

A pattern where the system first retrieves relevant passages from your own documents or data, then gives them to the model to answer from. It keeps answers current and specific without retraining, and allows citations. Answer quality depends heavily on the retrieval step.


Related terms

API (application programming interface)

A way for software to talk to other software. AI providers offer APIs so developers can send prompts and receive outpu…

API key

A secret string that identifies your account when your code calls an API, and that the bill is charged to. Treat it li…

Agent

An AI system that works towards a goal over several steps, deciding which tools to use and acting on the results with …

Agentic workflow

A process where an AI model decides some of the steps itself, rather than following a fixed sequence. It handles messy…

Batch processing

Sending many requests together to be processed in the background over a longer window, rather than waiting for each in…

Benchmark

A standard public test used to compare models, such as sets of exam questions, coding problems or maths puzzles. Usefu…

Beyond the definition

Knowing the word is the easy part

A short assessment scores you across five skill areas and builds a path through 18 modules, skipping whatever you already know. Free, no card.

Find your level