What Is a Large Language Model (LLM)?

May 31, 2025

How AI Is Learning to Talk Like Us

Did you ever type something on your phone and it auto-completed the next word? Or use Google Translate? Or have a conversation with a bot that responded almost like a person?

It's all driven by something called a Large Language Model (LLM) — a very cool thing that has happened in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Let's learn what LLMs are and how they work — in simple terms.

What is an LLM, Exactly?

A Large Language Model is an AI program trained on vast amounts of text — books, articles, websites, and more — to comprehend and produce human language.

It can:

✦ Comprehend what you say or type

✦ Generate responses, stories, emails, or even computer programming

✦ Translate from one language to another

✦ Talk normally in chatbots or virtual assistants

Basically, it's like a computer that has read millions of pages and learned to talk just like a human.

Where Are LLMs Used in Everyday Life?

LBM are used daily by most people without their knowledge. Some of the everyday uses are:

✦ Autocomplete suggestions in messaging apps and email

✦ Customer support chatbots

✦ Voice assistants such as Google Assistant or Alexa

✦ Language translation software such as Google Translate

✦ AI composing software that produces blog posts, summaries, resumes, and so on

Such software seems intelligent since it is driven by large language models.

How Do LLMs Really Work?

LLMs learn through reading a large body of text. Imagine a machine reading millions of documents to see how words and sentences are connected.

They do not memorize everything verbatim. Rather, they see patterns, comprehend context, and learn how to anticipate which words will follow a given word in a sentence.

This allows them to:

✦ Fill in your sentences

✦ Answer questions relevantly

✦ Produce realistic and coherent text

What Is Prompt Engineering?

A developing idea in the world of AI is Prompt Engineering — the art of creating clear and specific prompts to achieve optimal outcomes from language models.

For instance:

✦ Vague: "Write something"

✦ Clear: "Write a story about a cat who lives in a bookstore"

The more defined and targeted the input, the better the output from the AI.

Prompt engineering is turning into a valuable ability in being able to work efficiently with AI tools.

Why Are LLMs Important?

LLMs are revolutionizing the way we work, communicate, and access information. They are being applied to industries such as:

✦ Healthcare – summarizing medical data and patient notes

✦ Education – simplifying complex content for easy understanding

✦ E-commerce – responding to customer questions online

✦ Media – generating headlines, summaries, or complete articles

✦ Finance – offering quick, secure responses to client inquiries

And this is only the start. LLMs will have an impact on almost every industry.

What's Next for LLMs?

Though LLMs are not yet flawless, they are advancing at a fast pace. Their capacity to comprehend and create natural language is improving with every subsequent iteration.

In the years to come, LLMs will be further ingrained in apps, devices, and workflows in every industry.

Understanding how they work helps us better navigate this evolving digital world — just like learning how to use the internet changed the way people lived and worked two decades ago.

Written by: Mari Thangam

Published by: eKalya Computing Private Limited

eKalya Software Training