--- title: "Glossary of Chat Thing terms" description: "What the words in Chat Thing's app and docs mean, including the other names you might know them by and older names still used in the API." canonical_url: "https://chatthing.ai/docs/help/glossary" last_updated: "2026-09-25" --- # Glossary of Chat Thing terms Chat Thing uses a few words of its own, and other products use different words for the same things. Each entry gives a short definition, the other names people search for, and the page with the detail. Names in `code` are what you'll see in the API, the MCP tools or the JavaScript SDK. ## Bots and how they answer ### Bot One AI agent with its own instructions, knowledge, power-ups and channels. Also called an agent, AI agent, chatbot or assistant; the app says **bot**. In the API and MCP tools it's identified by `botId`. See [How Chat Thing works](https://chatthing.ai/docs/get-started/how-chat-thing-works#bots). ### Prompt (instructions) The instructions that tell your bot its role, tone, rules and what to do when it can't help. Older bots show **System message** and **Initial prompt** instead, and the API, SDK and MCP tools call it `systemMessage`. See [Write your bot's instructions](https://chatthing.ai/docs/bot-settings/instructions). ### Model The AI model that writes your bot's replies. You can choose one on the Standard plan and above. See [Models](https://chatthing.ai/docs/bot-settings/models). ### Creativity (temperature) How varied your bot's wording is. Lower means more consistent answers that stick to your content. Called `temperature` in the API and MCP tools. See [Settings reference](https://chatthing.ai/docs/bot-settings/settings-reference#model-settings-advanced). ### Knowledge (data sources) The content your bot answers from: your website, files, Notion, YouTube, RSS feeds or text you type in. Each connected source is a **data source**. People often call adding knowledge "training" the bot, but Chat Thing doesn't retrain the AI model: it searches your content for each question. See [Knowledge](https://chatthing.ai/docs/knowledge). ### Document (row, chunk) A data source is made of pages, files or entries, which the API and MCP tools call **rows**. When a source syncs, each one is split into smaller pieces called **documents** (sometimes called chunks), and those are what the bot searches. See [Retrieval settings](https://chatthing.ai/docs/knowledge/retrieval-settings). ### Sync Reading a data source's content so the bot can search it. A re-sync picks up changes; **Auto-syncing** does it every day, week or month on the Standard plan and above. See [Keep your bot's knowledge up to date](https://chatthing.ai/docs/knowledge/keep-it-up-to-date). ### Retrieval settings The settings that control how your bot searches its knowledge: **Document relevance**, **Max context documents**, **Enhanced knowledge retrieval** and others. Also called RAG settings. See [Retrieval settings](https://chatthing.ai/docs/knowledge/retrieval-settings). ### Sources (citations) Links under an answer showing which pages it came from, when **Include sources for responses** is on. See [Retrieval settings](https://chatthing.ai/docs/knowledge/retrieval-settings). ### Power-up (tool, action, function) Something your bot can do during a chat, such as email your team, book a meeting or call your API. Other products call these tools, actions or functions. Parts of the API still use those words: the Chat API reports power-up activity as `tool` events and messages. See [How power-ups work](https://chatthing.ai/docs/power-ups/how-power-ups-work). ### Client-side power-up A power-up that runs in your web page rather than on Chat Thing's servers, registered with the JavaScript SDK's `registerPowerUp()`. See [JavaScript SDK](https://chatthing.ai/docs/developers/javascript-sdk#add-client-side-power-ups). ### Display A power-up that shows an answer as cards, a table, a chart, a map or a diagram instead of plain text. See [Displays](https://chatthing.ai/docs/power-ups/displays). ### Scheduled task (task) An instruction your bot carries out on a schedule, without anyone chatting to it, such as a weekly summary email. Shown on the bot's **Tasks** tab, on the Standard plan and above. See [Scheduled tasks](https://chatthing.ai/docs/bot-settings/scheduled-tasks). ### Test case and test run (evals) A test case is a question plus checks its answer must pass; a test run runs all of a bot's test cases and grades the answers. Other tools call these evals. On the Enterprise plan, on the bot's **Tests** tab. See [Test your bot's answers](https://chatthing.ai/docs/bot-settings/test-your-bot). ## Channels and conversations ### Channel A place people talk to your bot: the web channel, WhatsApp, Slack, Discord, Telegram, email or the API. One bot can use several channels at once. See [Channels](https://chatthing.ai/docs/channels). ### Web channel (widget, bot page) The channel for chatting in a browser. It gives you a chat widget (a chat bubble on your site, also called a chat launcher or live chat widget), an embedded chat for inside a page, and a bot page at its own link. Every bot has it, on every plan. See [Website](https://chatthing.ai/docs/channels/website). ### Pre-chat form (lead form) A form visitors fill in before their first message, such as name and email. Its answers are saved with the conversation and the bot can see them. See [Ask visitors for their details first](https://chatthing.ai/docs/channels/website/lead-form). ### Conversation (chat) One thread of messages between someone and your bot. The app lists them under **Conversations**; the API and MCP tools often say chat (`chatId`). See [Review customer conversations](https://chatthing.ai/docs/manage/conversations). ### User data Details about the person chatting, such as their name, email or account ID, passed in by your pre-chat form, the SDK's `identifyUser` or the API's `userData`. The bot sees them on every reply. See [JavaScript SDK](https://chatthing.ai/docs/developers/javascript-sdk#identify-the-user). ### Handoff (escalation) When the bot passes a customer to your team. The **Talk to a human** power-up takes the customer's email address, emails your team and marks the conversation **Escalated**. See [Hand off to a human](https://chatthing.ai/docs/power-ups/talk-to-a-human). ### Human takeover (live chat) A teammate stepping into a live web chat and replying themselves while the bot stays quiet, then handing it back. Standard plan and above, web channel only. See [Human takeover](https://chatthing.ai/docs/manage/human-takeover). ### My Chats Your own private chats with your bots, kept separate from customer conversations. See [My Chats](https://chatthing.ai/docs/manage/my-chats). ### Analytics Topics, sentiment, common questions and recommendations worked out from a bot's conversations, on its **Overview** tab. Pro and Enterprise. See [Analytics](https://chatthing.ai/docs/manage/analytics). ### Topics Groups of conversations about the same subject, found automatically or set by you. Part of analytics. See [Analytics](https://chatthing.ai/docs/manage/analytics#topics). ## Tokens and plans ### Message tokens (credits) What your bots use when they reply, measured in tokens (roughly three-quarters of a word each). Other products call these credits or message credits. Each plan includes a monthly allowance. See [Message tokens](https://chatthing.ai/docs/account/message-tokens). ### Storage tokens What syncing knowledge uses, based on how much content is processed. Only new or changed content counts. Each plan includes a monthly allowance. See [Storage tokens](https://chatthing.ai/docs/account/storage-tokens). ### Add-on A paid extra that raises one limit, such as more message tokens or bots, without changing plan. See [Add-ons](https://chatthing.ai/docs/account/add-ons). ### Team The account that owns your bots, plan and billing. A personal team is just you; an organisation team has members with roles such as **Owner**, **Admin** and **Viewer**. See [Teams and roles](https://chatthing.ai/docs/account/teams). ### Early access A feature that's being rolled out to some teams before everyone. Its docs page has an **Early access** banner and isn't listed in the sidebar or search. To ask for it, email [support@chatthing.ai](mailto:support@chatthing.ai). New features are announced in the [changelog](https://chatthing.ai/docs/help/changelog). ## Building with Chat Thing ### Otto Chat Thing's built-in assistant. Click **Ask Otto** on a bot to change settings, add knowledge or test answers in plain words, or **Ask Otto about this chat** to find out why an answer went wrong. See [Otto](https://chatthing.ai/docs/get-started/otto). ### MCP (Model Context Protocol) An open standard that lets AI assistants such as Claude, ChatGPT and Cursor use tools in other apps. Chat Thing's MCP server lets your assistant build and manage your bots. See [AI assistants (MCP)](https://chatthing.ai/docs/mcp). ### WebMCP An experimental browser standard that lets a web page offer tools to AI agents. The Chat Thing widget can pass those tools to your bot as client-side power-ups. See [WebMCP](https://chatthing.ai/docs/developers/webmcp). ### JavaScript SDK The `window.chatThing` object that comes with the chat widget, for controlling the widget and passing user details and page context from your site. See [JavaScript SDK](https://chatthing.ai/docs/developers/javascript-sdk). ### API channel The channel that turns on the REST API for a bot, so your own app can chat with it and manage its manual knowledge. Standard plan and above. See [API overview](https://chatthing.ai/docs/developers/api-overview). ### Webhook (hook) A URL that Chat Thing calls when something happens, such as a new or escalated conversation, or a URL you call to start a sync. The API, MCP tools and the duplicate-bot dialog call these hooks. See [Webhooks](https://chatthing.ai/docs/developers/webhooks). ## Related - [How Chat Thing works](https://chatthing.ai/docs/get-started/how-chat-thing-works): The building blocks of Chat Thing (bots, knowledge, power-ups, channels, conversations and Otto) and how they fit together. - [Frequently asked questions](https://chatthing.ai/docs/help/faq): Quick answers to common questions about Chat Thing's plans, features, tokens and data, with links to the pages that cover each topic in full.