AI terms, in plain English.

Account-based marketing (ABM)

Treating a named list of high-value accounts as individual markets, with sales and marketing working from one plan per account. Instead of casting wide, the team maps who is involved in buying at each company and reaches them with messages written for that company.

Agentic workflow

A business process in which AI agents handle steps that used to need a person, passing work between them and to people at set points. For example, one agent researches a new lead, another drafts the first email, and a sales rep approves it before it goes out.

AI agent

Software that uses a language model to decide its next step toward a goal and can use tools to act, such as searching the web, updating a CRM or drafting a message. A well-built agent has limits: what it may do on its own, and what has to wait for a person's approval.

AI automation agency

A company that builds automations and AI systems for clients, using tools such as Zapier, Make or n8n, or custom code. They range from one-person shops wiring simple triggers to teams building multi-agent systems. Our guide on how to choose one covers what to ask.

AI consulting and implementation partner

A firm that helps a company decide where AI is worth using, then builds and installs the systems itself. A consultant usually stops at advice, and an agency usually builds what it is told to. A partner does both. OsmoSync is one, working with B2B companies inside the tools they already use.

AI implementation

The work of putting AI into a real business process so it runs on an ordinary Tuesday, not just in a demo. It covers mapping the process, connecting data and tools, building and testing on messy cases, and training the team. Most of the effort sits around the model. See AI implementation.

AI operating system (for a business)

A shared layer of company facts, rules and instructions that every AI system in the business reads from. Instead of re-explaining the company to each tool, you write it down once and keep it current, so separate agents behave consistently. See what an AI OS is.

AI SDR

Software, or a set of agents, that does parts of a sales development rep's job: finding prospects, researching them, writing outreach and following up. Most work best with a person reviewing the riskier messages. Whether to buy one or build one is covered in build vs buy.

Data enrichment

Filling in missing details on a contact or company record, such as job title, company size, software used or a verified email, by querying outside data providers. It usually runs before scoring and outreach. Check a provider's accuracy on a sample before trusting it at scale.

GTM engineering

Building the systems behind a company's go-to-market, such as lead sourcing, enrichment, scoring, outreach and CRM routing, with code and AI instead of manual work. A GTM engineer treats the pipeline as a system that can be measured and improved. See GTM systems.

Human in the loop

A design rule that puts a person at the points where a mistake would be expensive, such as emailing a customer, moving money or changing records. The AI prepares the work and a named person approves, edits or rejects it. The approval step is built into the system rather than left to habit.

Ideal customer profile (ICP)

A written description of the companies most likely to buy what you sell and do well with it, based on traits such as industry, size, software and the problem they have. It decides who enters the pipeline in the first place, so a vague ICP wastes every step that follows.

Intent data

Information suggesting a company or person is researching a problem or a purchase right now. First-party intent comes from your own channels, like visits to a pricing page. Third-party intent comes from activity elsewhere on the web. It goes stale quickly, so timing matters as much as accuracy.

Large language model (LLM)

The kind of AI model behind ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini. It is trained on large amounts of text and can draft, summarise, classify and follow instructions. Inside a business system it is one component, and the data, tools and rules around it decide how useful it turns out to be.

Paid pilot

A short paid project, usually two to four weeks, in which a provider builds one narrow workflow on real cases before you commit to anything larger. A good pilot has a named owner, a metric you already track and a written plan for the full build at the end.

Retrieval-augmented generation (RAG)

A technique in which an AI system first looks up relevant documents, such as policies, product notes or past support tickets, and then answers from what it found. It keeps answers tied to company facts and lets the system show its sources instead of guessing.

RevOps

Revenue operations: the team that runs the systems, data and processes behind sales, marketing and customer success as one pipeline. In practice it owns the CRM, the routing rules and the reporting, which makes it the place where AI sales systems usually get connected.

Signal-based outreach

Contacting a prospect only after they show a sign of need, then opening with that sign. Signals include a new job post, a funding round, a change in their software, or engagement with content about the problem. Also called intent-based outreach. Read how it works end to end.

Want the longer version? Read the buyer guides.