Glossary
Definitions for the terms used throughout the Webspenser AI Readiness Audit.
- AI Readiness
- How prepared an organization is — across data, tools, processes, and people — to deploy and benefit from AI.
- API
- Short for application programming interface. A standard "plug" that lets two software systems exchange data automatically, without a person copying and pasting. APIs are what make integrations possible
- CRM
- Customer relationship management software. The system of record for your clients and contacts — who they are, your history with them, and the status of each relationship. Examples: Salesforce, HubSpot, Monday.com, ZoHo.
- DMS
- Document management system. Software built to store, organize, version, and search your firm's documents in one secure place — more structured than a shared folder. Examples: iManage, NetDocuments, SharePoint.
- GDPR
- The General Data Protection Regulation, the EU's data privacy law. It sets strict rules on how personal data is collected, stored, and used, with significant penalties — relevant to any firm handling data of people in the EU/UK.
- Human in the loop
- A workflow design where a person reviews and approves an AI's output before it's used or sent. It keeps accountability and judgment with your team while the AI does the heavy lifting.
- Integration
- A connection that lets two tools share data automatically, so information entered in one appears in the other without manual re-entry. Often built using APIs.
- MSP
- Managed service provider. An outside company you pay to run and support your IT — help desk, security, software, and infrastructure — instead of staffing it in-house.
- SOP
- Standard operating procedure. A written, repeatable set of steps for doing a task the same way every time. SOPs are the documented processes that automation is built on top of.
- Structured data
- Information organized into a consistent, labeled format — rows and columns, fields and records — that software can read and sort easily. Spreadsheets, databases, and CRM records are structured.
- Train the model
- When an AI provider uses the text or files you submit to improve its underlying system. If a tool trains on your inputs, your confidential client data could influence future outputs for other users — which is why many firms require tools that contractually don't.
- Unstructured data
- Information without a predefined format — the free-flowing content in documents, emails, PDFs, images, and notes. It holds most of a firm's knowledge but is harder for software to read without AI.