Count On Coffey

By Jeremy Dietz, Director of AI Strategy and Content

1. Context window. The amount of information an AI model can "hold in mind" at once, including conversation history, documents and instructions.

Why it matters: Modern context windows are dramatically larger than those in earlier AI models. This means AI can maintain a consistent voice and direction across complex projects, not just answer individual questions.

2. Retrieval-augmented generation (RAG). A pattern where AI pulls from trusted, up-to-date sources (documents, websites, knowledge bases) before generating an answer.

Why it matters: Without RAG, AI relies on what it learned during training—which may be outdated, generic, or simply wrong.

3. AI agent. Goal-oriented AI that can plan, act, use tools and make decisions—not just respond to prompts. Agents may be useful for a variety of tasks, including research and scheduling, and may create sub-agents to handle specific jobs, like data retrieval.

Why it matters: Agents represent the shift from "chatting with AI" to "delegating work to AI."

4. Tool calling. When AI decides to use an external tool to complete a task, rather than just guessing at the response.

Why it matters: Tool calling helps AI act reliably in real workflows.

5. Model context protocol (MCP) server. A standardized way for AI models to securely access external tools, data sources and services with clear boundaries and permissions.

Why it matters: MCP is the bridge that lets AI safely "plug in" to other systems (files, APIs, databases and content management tools).

6. AI orchestration. The coordination of multiple models, agents, tools and data sources to complete a larger workflow.

Why it matters: Complex AI workflows often require a system, rather than just one model. Orchestration directly affects the quality of the result and the cost of achieving it.

7. AI visibility. How often and how accurately an organization appears in AI-generated answers across chat, search and agents.

Why it matters: This is quickly becoming as important as search engine optimization (SEO)—especially for brands that rely on trust and authority.

Categories: Digital