Getting started

Glossary of Unless terms

Unless uses a specific set of terms to describe its platform, features, and user roles. Understanding this glossary will help you navigate the system, configure AI agents, and communicate effectively with your team. Below is a structured overview of key Unless terminology organized by concept and function.

core concepts

account

A unique customer organization profile within Unless.com. It is used to configure AI interactions, manage customer experiences, oversee AI-driven interactions across channels, and administer users.

agent

An AI-driven software entity that automates customer interactions, provides assistance, and executes tasks on behalf of users.

customer agent

The AI assistant that interacts directly with your customers across marketing sites, product portals, help centers, and support channels. It covers all four moments of the customer lifecycle: acquisition, retention, sales expansion, and support.

team assistant

An AI tool designed to assist your internal teams by drafting replies, surfacing context, and running Procedures within your helpdesk environment.

moments

The four key stages in the customer lifecycle where the agent operates: Acquisition, Retention, Sales expansion (sometimes called Expansion), and Support.

living knowledge

The body of information the agent knows, built from your connected content sources and structured into the content library.

living memory

The agent’s record of individual customer preferences, history, sentiment, and goals, scoped per agent and kept private.

living context

Real-time data connections to your CRM, billing, ERP, helpdesk, and custom APIs that allow the agent to act within your systems of record.

procedures

Configured workflows or actions that the agent can execute, set up during the Train phase and attached to specific moments during Deploy.

signals

Data points or triggers that the agent uses to detect customer needs or lifecycle events, such as churn risk or upsell opportunities.

dashboard and system elements

dashboard

The interface where AI Managers monitor live customer engagement, AI performance, personalization outcomes, and manage AI configurations.

component

A modular UI element deployed into customer interfaces, which may include AI features for onboarding, sales, or support.

conversation

A structured exchange between an end user and the Unless AI, tracked for analytics and improvement.

control question

A specific question used to verify AI response accuracy, paired with a control answer for benchmarking.

control answer

A predefined response used as a standard to validate AI-generated answers.

quality assurance

The process and dashboard section dedicated to reviewing and validating AI outputs and training levels.

insights

Actionable findings from analytics highlighting trends, performance metrics, and optimization opportunities.

optimizer

A tool that refines content by detecting gaps, removing duplicates, and rewriting for clarity.

data and compliance

pii (Personally Identifiable Information)

Data such as names, emails, or identifiers that can uniquely identify a person, handled securely within Unless.

pii filtering

The detection and removal of identifiable personal data by Unless systems to ensure compliance.

pii obfuscation

Masking of personal data to protect user privacy during processing.

consent management

Processes for obtaining, storing, and managing user permissions for data handling.

compliance controls

Built-in safeguards ensuring adherence to privacy laws, data policies, and regulatory standards like GDPR, DORA, and the EU AI Act.

transparency

Clear disclosure of AI decision-making processes, personalization, and data use.

user roles and actions

user (AI Manager)

An individual with authenticated access to Unless, responsible for managing content, configurations, and analytics.

end user

A visitor or customer who interacts with the Unless-powered AI experiences.

upvote / downvote

User actions indicating approval or dissatisfaction with AI-generated responses.

escalation

Routing a customer inquiry from AI handling to human support when higher expertise is needed.

action button

An interactive UI element that initiates a configured task or workflow within an Unless component.

integrations and technology

source

External systems or documents feeding data into Unless’s Living Knowledge, such as help centers, wikis, tickets, or Slack channels.

source connector

An integration module that retrieves data from external systems for AI use.

crm connector

An integration that synchronizes CRM data to enhance user profiles and personalize AI responses.

mcp server (Model Context Protocol server)

Connects AI to product APIs, enabling AI skills that perform actions on behalf of users.

ai constellation

A set of EU-hosted foundation models from providers like Anthropic, Mistral, OpenAI, Google, Cohere, and Amazon Titan. Unless dynamically selects and switches models to comply with regulations and vendor terms.

bring-your-own-llm

An option to run the Customer Agent on a licensed model you control, alongside or instead of the AI constellation.

testing and deployment

pilot

A free, guided onboarding phase to test Unless AI on a limited scope before full deployment.

flex and fixed

Subscription plans: Flex is pay-per-outcome with à la carte modules; Fixed is a monthly fee with bundled features and dedicated support.

test mode

A/B testing tactic applied to components to compare performance.

published version / draft version

The live, customer-facing iteration of content or configuration versus an unpublished version under review.

additional terms

persona

A predefined AI character profile including tone of voice.

audience

Customer segments defined by behavioral, demographic, or engagement data for personalization and targeting.

workspace

An environment holding all configuration and data for a single customer journey or product line.

session

A tracked continuous period of end-user interaction.

fallback language / base language / allowed language

Languages configured for AI interaction, with fallback defaults and restrictions as needed.

This glossary covers the essential terms you will encounter when working with Unless. Familiarity with these concepts will help you effectively manage AI-powered customer success and navigate the platform’s capabilities. For more detailed explanations, consult the Unless help center or your account manager.