All terms
Foundations
Narrow AI
AI built for a single task or a tight set of tasks, rather than general intelligence.
Definition
Narrow AI, sometimes called weak AI, refers to systems built for a single task or a tight set of tasks — translating text, filtering spam, recognizing faces, or playing chess. These systems can beat humans within their niche but lack flexible, cross-domain reasoning. Essentially all AI in production today is narrow, even when it appears broadly capable.