AI glossary: plain-English definitions
The terms people meet when they start using ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini seriously, explained without jargon.
By The 30-Day AI Habit · Published 2026-10-04 · Updated 2026-10-05
AI hallucination
An answer from an AI that sounds confident but is wrong, invented or unsupported, such as a made-up fact, number, quote or source. The AI does not know it is wrong. See how to spot AI hallucinations.
Cognitive surrender
The tendency to accept AI output with minimal scrutiny, overriding your own intuition and reasoning. The term comes from Wharton researchers Steven Shaw and Gideon Nave.
Sycophancy (AI)
The tendency of a chatbot to agree with you and flatter your ideas instead of challenging them. The Devil's Advocate Rule counters it by asking the AI to argue against you. See why ChatGPT agrees with everything you say.
Prompt
The instruction or question you give an AI. Better prompts say who you are, what you need and why.
Custom instructions
A settings section (called Custom Instructions or Personalisation in many apps) where you tell the AI about yourself once so it shapes every later answer.
Training on your conversations
Many AI apps can use your conversations to train future models unless you switch that setting off. It is rarely on the front page, so check each tool you use.
Placeholder
A stand-in such as "Client A" or "[Project Name]" that replaces a sensitive detail before you paste text into an AI, so you still get help without sharing private information.
Source click
The habit of opening every source an AI gives you and finding the exact line that supports the claim. AI can produce links that look right but do not say what it claimed, or do not exist.
Pre-flight check
A short routine you run before an AI answer leaves your screen and goes to a client, a customer or your bank.
Fresh chat
Starting a new conversation instead of continuing a very long one. Each message makes the AI re-read the whole chat, so after many messages old details can blur.
Prompt library
Your own collection of prompts that work, saved in one place you can reach in seconds.
Spaced repetition
Reviewing something at increasing intervals so it sticks. The Pop Quiz in The 30-Day AI Habit uses it: right answers move to a slower review box and wrong answers return sooner.
Sources
Frequently asked questions
What is an AI hallucination?
A confident AI answer that is wrong or made up, such as an invented fact, number, quote or source.
What is cognitive surrender?
Accepting AI output with minimal scrutiny, overriding your own thinking. The term is from Wharton researchers Shaw and Nave.
Keep reading
- How to spot AI hallucinations
- How to check AI answers
- What not to paste into ChatGPT
- Why ChatGPT agrees with everything you say
- The 30-Day AI Habit: the full plan
- Is ChatGPT accurate? How much should you trust AI answers
- How to make ChatGPT sound like you
- How to use AI for email, meeting notes and summaries
- Does AI really save time? How to measure it honestly
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