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Glossary

Short, careful entries on the terms that matter in enterprise AI. Each one is dated, cited, and reviewed by a named editor before publication. We skip the terms a general-interest AI glossary already covers and focus on the ones that determine budget and risk.

  • Model Context Protocol (MCP)


    The specification, the history, the three roles, and the fourth role that emerged in production.

    Protocol · 7 min

  • MCP Gateway


    The authorization- and observability-aware proxy every enterprise ends up building or buying.

    Protocol · 5 min

  • Agentic RAG


    Retrieval inside a plan. When it earns its seat and when it is a tax.

    Architecture · 6 min

  • Agent observability


    The emerging category. What counts as observable, and what Datadog, Braintrust, and Phoenix are all chasing.

    Observability · 5 min

  • ISO/IEC 42001:2023


    The first certifiable AI management standard. Structure, annexes, certification process, and how it relates to NIST AI RMF.

    Governance · 8 min

  • NIST AI Risk Management Framework


    The four-function framework (GOVERN, MAP, MEASURE, MANAGE) US federal agencies and most enterprises reference by default.

    Governance · 6 min

  • Shadow AI


    What every mature governance program discovers at audit: unsanctioned AI tools, SaaS-embedded AI, team-built integrations. How to surface it.

    Governance · 6 min

  • Agent washing


    Gartner's term for products marketed as agentic that are workflow-with-natural-language-input. The five tells we use to screen demos.

    Governance · 6 min

  • Guardian agent


    The Gartner-coined category for AI systems that supervise other AI systems. Real, narrow, still forming in April 2026.

    Governance · 5 min


The glossary is mirrored from Explore Agentic — the canonical index lives at www.exploreagentic.ai/glossary/.