Definition

Using a service ‘in the cloud’ means working over the internet with a provider’s computers. With a cloud model, the language model (A language model is the actual AI behind an AI assistant: it has learned from a great deal of text and writes an answer to an input.) runs at the AI provider (An AI provider runs language models and sells access to them, for example OpenAI (ChatGPT), Anthropic (Claude) or Google (Gemini).): your inputs go there and the answer comes back.

Where the data centres are depends on the provider. Some providers let you choose a region, such as the EU or Switzerland.

What it means for you

Your working files are in the installed vault (The vault is a folder of your working files on your computer; we create it from the vault template.) on your machine. If you use a cloud model, its provider receives the content you send to it; we discuss with you which data you can use with it.

Where the term comes up

More terms

  • HostingHosting means that a provider runs the computers on which a website, a program or data runs and can be reached.
  • Region (data centre)For cloud providers, a region is the area where the data centres that process your data are located, such as the EU or Switzerland.
  • Local or hybridLocally, the language model runs on your hardware; in a hybrid setup the working files stay local and only the excerpts needed go to a cloud model.
  • ServerA server is a computer that runs all the time and provides services to other devices, such as email, files or a website.

All terms