Natural language processing (NLP) is the field of computer science focused on enabling machines to understand, interpret, and generate human language. It’s been around since the 1950s and has evolved from rule-based systems to statistical models to, today, large language models. LLMs are currently the most advanced tools for doing NLP work.
Why This Matters for Technical Writers
If you’re documenting any AI feature that involves text (i.e., chatbots, summarization, translation, search, classification) you’re documenting an NLP application. Knowing this helps you use the right terminology and understand where the technology comes from.
Common Confusion
NLP and AI are not the same thing. NLP is a subfield of AI focused specifically on language.
It’s also easy to conflate NLP with LLMs, but LLMs are just the current dominant approach. NLP existed long before them.
Related Terms
large language model (LLM), generative AI, AI model, token, natural language understanding (NLU)