LLM API
An LLM API is an application programming interface that lets software send prompts to a large language model and receive generated text (or structured output). It is how most applications integrate LLMs without hosting models themselves.
In Simple Terms
Think of it as a tap for AI: you send a prompt and get back text without running the model yourself.
Detailed Explanation
Providers (e.g., OpenAI, Anthropic, Google) expose REST or similar APIs: you send a request with a prompt, model name, and parameters (temperature, max tokens) and get back a response. APIs handle scaling, latency, and model updates; you pay per token or per request. Using an LLM API is the fastest way to add language capabilities to an app. Teams typically wrap the API with retries, logging, and guardrails and may use more than one provider for redundancy or cost.
Related Terms
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Technology that helps computers understand, interpret, and manipulate human language.
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