Glossary
A quick reference for the core terms used throughout The New Rules of Conversation Marketing.
AI (Artificial Intelligence)
The simulation of human intelligence by machines, especially software that can learn, reason, and respond. Used in marketing for automation, personalisation, and real-time engagement.
Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO)
Optimising content to appear in AI-generated summaries and responses (e.g. ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews) rather than traditional search engine results pages (SERPs).
API (Application Programming Interface)
A set of tools and protocols that allows different systems to talk to each other. Enables integration across your marketing stack and conversational tools.
Brando Schema
A structured vocabulary (developed alongside this handbook) for defining your brand’s tone, voice, purpose, and guardrails in machine-readable form — so AI can represent your brand accurately.
Chatbot
A software application that simulates conversation with users via messaging interfaces, often powered by rules or AI.
Conversational Advertising
A format of advertising that invites users into a dialogue (via chat or messaging) rather than sending them to a static landing page.
Conversational Design
The practice of designing structured, natural, and useful interactions between humans and machines — typically in messaging apps, chatbots, or voice interfaces.
Conversational Marketing
A marketing approach focused on two-way dialogue with customers — using chat, messaging, voice, or other interactive formats — to build relationships in real time.
Conversational Sales
The use of chat-based or real-time dialogue (often assisted by AI) to guide leads from interest to purchase, replacing traditional forms and friction-heavy sales flows.
CRM (Customer Relationship Management)
A system or platform for managing a company’s interactions and relationships with current and potential customers.
CSAT (Customer Satisfaction Score)
A common metric used to measure how satisfied a customer is with a specific interaction or service experience.
Customer Journey
The complete sequence of touchpoints and interactions a person has with a brand — from first awareness through purchase, onboarding, and beyond.
Intent
What a user is trying to do when they engage — their goal, question, or purpose. Identifying intent is essential to delivering relevant conversations.
LLM (Large Language Model)
A type of AI trained on massive text datasets to generate human-like responses. Powers tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini.
Live Persona
A dynamic, AI-informed customer profile that updates in real time based on behaviour, preferences, and feedback — as opposed to a static persona.
Messaging Platform
Apps and systems that support direct messaging between users and brands — including WhatsApp, Messenger, SMS, and in-app chat.
Microcopy
Short pieces of text (e.g. buttons, labels, prompts) used in interfaces or conversation flows to guide users with clarity and tone.
NLU (Natural Language Understanding)
A subfield of AI that allows machines to interpret and process human language input (text or speech).
Omni-Channel
A seamless and integrated experience across multiple channels and devices — where customers can switch between touchpoints without losing context.
Prompt
A question or input used to trigger an AI response or guide the direction of a chatbot or generative model.
ROI (Return on Investment)
A measure of the value received relative to the cost of an initiative. In this handbook, we expand the concept to Return on Interaction — value created through conversation.
Schema Markup
Structured data added to your website content that helps search engines and AI systems understand your brand, products, and services more clearly.
Sentiment Analysis
The process of detecting emotion or tone (positive, negative, neutral) in text — often used in chat logs or social listening.
Voice of the Brand
The distinct tone, style, and language your brand uses in communication — designed to reflect personality, values, and positioning.
Webhook
A method for one system to send real-time data to another, often used to trigger automation or sync information between tools.
➡️ See the Resource Guide for tools, platforms, and further reading.