AI is everywhere right now, and most explanations either assume a technical background or drown the basics in hype. In this first video of the AI for Business series, 25eight CEO Sam Hurley breaks down the three terms every business owner needs before anything else: artificial intelligence, machine learning and large language models.
The core argument is simple. The three terms get used interchangeably, and they are different things. Artificial intelligence is the broad field: software doing tasks that would normally need human intelligence. Machine learning is the main way modern AI is built, with systems learning patterns from enormous amounts of data rather than following programmed rules. Large language models, or LLMs, are the machine learning systems behind tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot and Gemini. They work by predicting language, and your phone's autocomplete is a surprisingly good analogy for what they do at a much larger scale. The chat tools you use day to day are interfaces sitting on top of these models. Understanding that much already puts you ahead of most buyers of AI software.
Key points
- AI, machine learning and LLMs are three different things, and knowing the difference cuts through most marketing claims.
- Machine learning systems learn patterns from data rather than following hand-written rules.
- LLMs predict plausible language; autocomplete at enormous scale is a fair mental model.
- Tools like ChatGPT are interfaces built on top of underlying models.
- None of this requires a computer science degree, just a working vocabulary.
For the written version of this, including how these foundations connect to training, agents and data decisions, read An introduction to AI for small business.
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