AI Jargon Buster
AI news and the language around it, simplified.
What is a Token?
A Token is a small unit of text that an AI model uses to process information. Instead of reading full words, the system breaks down sentences into these smaller pieces. A token can be a single character, a part of a word, or a whole word. On average, one thousand tokens are equal to about seven hundred and fifty words. Because AI models have a maximum capacity for how much information they can hold in their memory at one time, they use tokens to measure the length of your input and their own responses. Understanding this helps you predict how much text you can provide to an AI tool before it reaches its limit.
Why this matters to you
When you use AI for work, you will often see usage limits or pricing based on tokens. If you try to upload a very long report or a massive dataset, the system might stop working because you exceeded the token limit. Knowing this helps you break your work into smaller, manageable pieces so the AI can process your requests without errors or unexpected interruptions.
How you might hear this
"We need to summarize this document in sections because the total length exceeds the token limit of our current AI subscription."
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