AI Jargonaut

AI Jargonaut is an iOS and Mac app that turns AI acronyms and terms into plain language you can actually use. Each entry includes the full expansion, a clear definition, an everyday analogy, where the term appears in practice, its source, and the date it first appeared. The starter dictionary currently holds 67 terms and runs entirely on your device.

Yes. On devices with Apple Intelligence, definitions are generated and looked up entirely on-device. There is no account, no server, and nothing is sent back. Terms you add or edit sync only through your own iCloud account.

Answer Engine Optimization is the practice of structuring content so AI answer engines (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, Gemini, and others) can find, trust, and cite it when they write a direct answer instead of ranking a list of links. It overlaps heavily with ordinary SEO; the main difference is the outcome you measure—citations and mentions rather than rankings and clicks. The term was coined by Jason Barnard in 2017.

Every entry ships with a plain-language definition, an everyday analogy, concrete places the term is used, a source, and a date. You can rewrite any of it in your own words, add your own illustration, and keep the whole dictionary private and on your devices. It is designed so you can say the term out loud without bluffing.

Swipe right across the definition. The Ask screen also reopens the last definition you were reading when you return to the app.

On the Browse screen, press and hold a term (or swipe right-to-left) and tap Edit; on a Mac, right-click it. On the Ask screen, swipe down and tap the pen icon. You can change the acronym, definition, analogy, uses, source, date, or illustration.

The entry is left with no picture. Remove Image clears both the one you added and the one the app supplied. On a shipped term, “Restore Original” at the bottom of the Edit screen puts the original illustration back.

That entry becomes yours. Later app updates leave your rewritten version unchanged and simply add any new terms alongside it.

Yes. On the Edit screen, scroll to the bottom and choose “Restore Original.” This puts back the definition, analogy, uses, source, date, and illustration the term shipped with.

Yes. Terms you rewrote and pictures you added travel through your iCloud account and are not replaced by the originals on a new device.

Yes. You can export the terms you have modified as a plain JSON file and bring it back the same way. Imported terms with valid dates are added; invalid dates cause that entry to be skipped. Your edits stay yours across devices via iCloud.

That term is skipped. Valid dates are required for the entry to import.

When a source only gives a year (or a diffuse origin with no exact day), the month and day stay at 1 rather than being invented. Those entries therefore read as January 1st of their year.

The app interface speaks Spanish. The dictionary entries themselves are in English.