Team chat and AI glossary

This glossary defines the core team chat and AI terms in one place, from channels and threads to AI teammates, MCP connectors, and agentic AI, so you can compare tools like Waffle, Slack, and Discord using the same words.

Team chat

Real time messaging software organized into channels and direct messages, used by a company or team to work together instead of email. Slack, Discord, Microsoft Teams, and Waffle are examples.

AI team chat

Team chat that includes a built in AI assistant your team can talk to like a coworker. Instead of switching to a separate chatbot, you mention the assistant in a channel and it reads shared files, answers questions, and produces work.

AI teammate

An AI assistant that is a member of your chat with the surrounding context, able to read files, write documents, and use connected tools, rather than a standalone chatbot you copy and paste into. Waffle AI is an AI teammate.

Waffle AI

Waffle’s built in AI member. You mention it in a channel, thread, or private thread and it reads attachments, writes real documents, reads your GitHub code, and runs connected tools, then posts a finished reply with any files attached.

Channel

A named space for messages about a topic, project, or group. Channels can be public to the team or private to invited members.

Thread

A side conversation branched off a single message, so replies stay together without cluttering the main channel. In Waffle you can also broadcast a thread reply back to the channel.

Direct message

A private conversation between two people, or a small group, separate from the team channels. Often shortened to DM.

Voice channel

An always available audio room you click to join, with speaking indicators and screen share, rather than a scheduled call. Waffle has one click voice channels.

Mention

Tagging a person or the AI with an at sign so they are notified or asked to act. Mentioning Waffle AI is how you ask it to do something.

MCP (Model Context Protocol)

An open standard that lets an AI assistant connect to external tools and data sources through one common interface. Waffle uses MCP so Waffle AI can work with tools like Linear, Jira, and custom internal servers.

Connector

A configured connection from Waffle AI to an external tool such as GitHub, Linear, or Jira. Admins scope which channels can use each connector and whether it is read only or read and write.

Agentic AI

AI that does not just answer a question but takes multiple steps with tools to complete a task, such as reading a repository, writing a document, and filing a ticket. Waffle AI is agentic.

Large language model

The type of AI model that understands and generates natural language, and powers assistants like Waffle AI. Often shortened to LLM.

Presence

The indicator showing whether a teammate is online, idle, or offline. In Waffle, presence is carved right into each person’s avatar.

Want to see these in practice? Meet Waffle AI, or read what an AI teammate can actually do inside team chat.