What Is an LLM?

A Large Language Model (LLM) is a type of AI trained on vast amounts of text to predict and generate language. ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Meta's Llama are all LLMs, each with different training data, capabilities, and design philosophies.

Why This Matters for Marketers

  • LLMs have training cutoffs — they do not know about events after their data was collected
  • They can confidently generate inaccurate information — always verify facts
  • They are excellent at tone replication, format transformation, and summarization
  • They struggle with precise arithmetic and highly specialized local knowledge