Last updated on October 5th, 2025 at 05:18 am
Technology moves quickly and new jargon appears almost every week. By October 2025 many of the buzzwords you heard at the start of the year have evolved into standards, products and everyday vocabulary. This glossary breaks down the most talked‑about terms so you can stay informed and impress colleagues without wading through technical whitepapers
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Agentic Internet | A web where autonomous AI agents act for users, handling tasks like research, booking, and purchasing. |
| Agent Payments Protocol (AP2) | A standard for secure agent-driven payments, letting AI agents complete transactions with audit trails. |
| A2A (Agent-to-Agent Protocol) | Open standard for agents to communicate directly with each other, ensuring interoperability. |
| Model Context Protocol (MCP) | A framework that allows agents to plug into real tools and data in a standardized way. |
| Intent Mandates | Digital instructions that capture what a user wants an agent to do, with constraints and permissions. |
| Cart Mandates | A structured way for agents to authorize and complete shopping transactions on behalf of users. |
| NET Dollar (Agentic Stablecoin) | A new USD-backed stablecoin designed for agent-to-agent commerce. |
| Agentic Commerce | Shopping flows fully managed by AI agents, from product discovery to secure payment. |
| Amazon Quick Suite | Amazon’s AI agent workspace for enterprises, bundling tools for agent collaboration. |
| Quick Flows | Amazon’s natural-language workflow automation feature, letting users build agent tasks via prompts. |
| Farcaster Frames | Mini apps embedded directly in social feeds, enabling interactive actions without leaving the post. |
| Agentic Rails | The protocols and infrastructure that make agent-to-agent actions reliable, secure, and standardized. |
| Micro LLMs | Compact language models optimized for phones, IoT devices, and edge computing. |
| Ambient Invisible Intelligence | AI embedded in environments, working in the background without explicit prompts. |
| Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) | Cryptography methods designed to resist attacks from future quantum computers. |
| Hybrid Computing | Combining classical, quantum, and neuromorphic systems into a single computing framework. |
| Polyfunctional Robots | Robots designed to adapt to multiple roles instead of being task-specific. |
| Neurological Enhancement | Use of brain–computer interfaces and implants to boost human cognition and perception. |
| Energy-Efficient Computing | Hardware and systems engineered to reduce energy consumption of heavy AI workloads. |
| Synthetic Media | AI-generated audio, video, or images, including deepfakes and virtual influencers. |
| Autonomous Accounting | Financial operations run by AI with minimal human oversight. |
| Arazzo Specification | A new API standard for describing workflows, sequences, and dependencies in a universal way. |
| Human Digital Clones | AI-created replicas of individuals based on voice, text, and video to simulate their presence. |
Let’s discuss these term in more detail
Agentic AI and the Agentic Internet
“Agentic” describes AI systems that act like autonomous agents. Instead of waiting for your prompt, an agentic AI can pursue goals on its own, interact with other services and even make decisions. This idea is fueling talk of an agentic internet, an online world where AI assistants work for you behind the scenes. Media outlets describe an era when AI agents will schedule appointments, manage subscriptions and buy products using standard protocols that make them safe and accountable. Big tech companies are racing to build the infrastructure needed for agents to negotiate, verify credentials and complete tasks. The result could be a web dominated by software agents rather than human clicks.
AP2, the Agent Payments Protocol
As soon as software agents start buying things, you need rules for how they do it. AP2 (Agent Payments Protocol) is an open standard created by Google, Anthropic and industry partners that defines how AI agents can purchase goods and services on your behalf. Finextra explains that AP2 is payment‑agnostic – it is not tied to a single card network – and provides a shared rulebook for AI agents to handle transactions safely. Dozens of companies including Mastercard, PayPal, Worldpay, Adyen and Coinbase support the protocol. AP2 defines how agents prove who they are, request approval and settle purchases. It is a foundation for the agentic internet because it builds trust into automated commerce.
A2A, the Agent‑to‑Agent Protocol
The Agent‑to‑Agent (A2A) protocol addresses the other side of agentic commerce – the conversation between agents themselves. A2A is intended to be a universal “language” that allows your personal AI and a merchant’s AI to negotiate terms, exchange information and finalize orders. When combined with AP2, it ensures that agents can interact across services while remaining accountable. Although full specifications are still evolving, early drafts suggest A2A will handle identity verification, capability negotiation and error handling so that agent interactions remain transparent and auditable.
MCP, the Model Context Protocol
AI models are only as good as the context they have about you and your business. Anthropic’s Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open standard that creates a secure bridge between AI models and data sources. The company explains that MCP provides “two‑way, secure connections” so that an assistant can access data from tools like Google Drive, Slack or Salesforce and then write back recommendations. MCP replaces ad‑hoc integrations with a universal format and includes pre‑built servers for popular enterprise systems. A single agent can therefore answer questions with up‑to‑date context while respecting security policies. MCP is a key building block of enterprise agentic architectures.
Intent Mandates and Cart Mandates
AP2 introduces the concepts of intent mandates and cart mandates. According to TechCrunch, an intent mandate records what you want an agent to search for; a cart mandate defines exactly what the agent is allowed to purchase. When an AI assistant proposes a purchase, you approve both mandates, creating an auditable record of your permission. Intent and cart mandates make sure agents cannot go on shopping sprees without explicit user authorization. They also provide merchants and regulators with proof that a transaction was approved.
NET Dollar Stablecoin
AI agents will need digital money to settle transactions instantly. Cloudflare announced the NET Dollar, a dollar‑backed stablecoin designed for machine‑to‑machine payments. Ledger Insights reports that the NET Dollar and the x402 protocol will enable automated payments and micro‑transactions across the web. Cloudflare’s CEO believes this shift will move the internet away from ads toward a pay‑per‑use model. Because it is pegged to the US dollar and governed by transparent smart contracts, the NET Dollar aims to be a reliable currency for agentic commerce.
Agentic Commerce and Agent‑Native Shopping
When you combine agentic AI, AP2, A2A and stablecoins, you get agentic commerce – shopping done entirely by software agents. Finextra notes that over sixty firms have backed AP2 to move the conversation from hype to reality. In an agent‑native shopping scenario, you might tell your assistant “book a flight to Goa under ₹10 000,” and it will research options, negotiate with airline agents, apply loyalty credits and pay using your NET Dollar balance. The future checkout page could disappear entirely because your agent and the merchant’s agent will have negotiated everything behind the scenes.
Micro and Small Language Models (Micro LLMs)
Not every task requires a giant model like GPT‑4. Micro or small language models are compact versions of large models tuned to specific domains. APMdigest’s 2025 AI predictions explain that small models are ten to one thousand times smaller than systems like GPT‑4, so they can run on laptops or even phones. Companies like Meta and Mistral are building micro‑LLMs because they are cheaper to run, easier to customize and give businesses more control over their data. Expect to see specialized models for finance, legal work and customer service that run locally rather than in the cloud.
Ambient Invisible Intelligence
Gartner calls ambient invisible intelligence one of the top trends for 2025. ProductiveEdge describes it as the embedding of sensors and machine learning into everyday environments so spaces anticipate your needs. This could mean smart lighting that adjusts as you enter a room, factory robots that coordinate without human oversight or city infrastructure that reroutes traffic in real time. Because the intelligence is ambient, you do not interact with a device directly – the technology fades into the background and responds to context.
Energy‑Efficient Computing
As AI workloads grow, so does energy consumption. Energy‑efficient computing refers to chips, algorithms and architectures designed to reduce power usage. Researchers are experimenting with neuromorphic chips, quantum processors and power‑aware algorithms to lower the energy demands of data centres and devices. These advances are vital as AI spreads to edge devices and as data centres seek to meet sustainability goals.
Hybrid Computing
AI applications often need different kinds of computing resources. Hybrid computing combines classical CPUs with GPUs, FPGAs, quantum chips and other accelerators to achieve better performance and flexibility. Hybrid systems will mix and match processing and storage mechanisms with specialised chips and quantum hardware to tackle complex tasks efficiently. The future of computing is not one architecture but many working together.
Spatial Computing
Spatial computing blends digital content with the physical world using augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality. Spatial computing enables immersive experiences in gaming, remote collaboration, education and healthcare. Instead of watching a 2D screen, you might explore a 3D visualisation of your company’s sales data, conduct a virtual surgery or attend a meeting as a hologram. Apple’s Vision Pro and Meta’s Quest devices are early steps toward mainstream spatial computing.
Neurological Enhancements
Scientists are developing brain–computer interfaces and neural implants that allow direct communication between nervous systems and machines. These neurological enhancements can restore lost functions – for example, helping patients regain movement or vision – and may eventually augment memory and cognition. Neurological enhancement holds promise, it raises ethical concerns about privacy, consent and unequal access. Regulation and ethical guidelines will shape how far these technologies go.
Polyfunctional Robots
A new generation of robots is being designed to perform many jobs rather than a single repetitive task. Polyfunctional robots use modular hardware and software so they can reconfigure themselves for different roles. These robots can handle varied assignments, adapt to new environments and lower costs for industries ranging from manufacturing to agriculture.
Think of a robot that picks fruit in the morning, delivers packages in the afternoon and inspects a pipeline at night.
Synthetic Media
AI is getting very good at creating realistic media. Synthetic media refers to audio, video, images and text generated or manipulated by AI. Synthetic media is artificially produced content that closely mimics real‐world medialearn.g2.com.
Tools can compose music, write articles, create lifelike avatars and even synthesize voices.
Synthetic media enables creative possibilities but also raises questions about authenticity and misinformation. Watermarks, provenance tools and digital rights management will become more important as synthetic content proliferates.
Arazzo Specification for API Workflows
The Arazzo specification is a standard for describing the flow of API calls in a machine‑ and human‑readable way. Nordic APIs explains that Arazzo provides a layer of abstraction over multiple API endpoints so developers can define sequences and dependencies. Rather than manually coding complex workflows, a developer can document them in an Arazzo file and then use tools to generate client code or test suites. This streamlines integration work and makes it easier to share API use cases.
Post‑Quantum Cryptography Momentum
Quantum computers could one day break the encryption that secures today’s internet. Post‑quantum cryptography (PQC) refers to new cryptographic algorithms designed to resist quantum attacks. The US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) published the first three PQC standards in August 2024 and announced that its sixth standardization conference will take place on 24–26 September 2025. This schedule signals that PQC research is moving from theory into practice as governments and businesses prepare to upgrade their security systems.
Farcaster Mini Apps (Frames)
Farcaster is a decentralized social network built on Web3 principles. The platform has introduced mini apps, formerly called frames, which embed interactive experiences directly within posts. These mini apps let developers add games, NFT minting, checkout flows and other actions inside Farcaster posts . Users can mint an NFT, buy a product or play a game without leaving the feed, making social interactions more interactive and commerce‑friendly.
Amazon Quick Suite and Quick Flows
Amazon is entering the agentic AI race with Quick Suite, an enterprise tool for deploying multiple AI agents, and Quick Flows, a workflow builder that uses natural language. Quick Suite unifies services like QuickSight and Q Business and enables employees to automate tasks through simple prompts. Quick Flows allows businesses to string together actions and decisions in a single automated process. Amazon has been testing the suite with companies such as BMW and Intuit. The aim is to improve productivity by bringing agentic capabilities into workplace apps.
Conclusion
October 2025 has been a busy month for technology. From protocols that let AI agents transact and talk with each other to new computing paradigms and immersive interfaces, the language we use to describe tech is evolving quickly. Staying current means understanding not just the buzzwords but the problems they are trying to solve – how to make AI safe and useful, how to run powerful models on modest hardware, how to balance convenience with privacy, and how to prepare for the future of cryptography. Keep this glossary handy as you explore the agentic internet and beyond.
