Corporate jargon starting with A
28 terms of corporate jargon starting with A, from A/B test to AWOL. ASAP means now, and at your earliest convenience means now, please.
Every term under A
A
- A/B test
- compare two versions
- Show two versions to different people and see which works.
- above my pay grade
- not my decision
- Too important for someone at my level to decide.
- act your wage
- do what you're paid for
- Do the work you are paid for and nothing extra.
- action this
- do this
- Make this happen; said of a task handed to you.
- actionable
- usable
- Clear enough to act on.
- agentic
- AI that acts alone
- Said of AI that carries out a task on its own, step by step.
- Dictionary.com put it on its 2025 Word of the Year shortlist.
- agile
- flexible
- Flexible. Also a software method with its own set of meetings.
- agree?
- please comment
- A question at the end of a post, there to collect comments.
- AI-first
- AI before hiring
- A company rule to try AI before hiring anyone or asking for budget.
- Duolingo's CEO declared the company AI-first in an April 2025 memo, then walked it back in May.
- AI native
- built around AI
- Designed from the start around AI tools.
- AI slop
- junk AI output
- Low-quality content churned out by AI tools.
- AI washing
- fake AI claims
- Claiming a product uses AI more than it does.
- aligned
- agreed
- Everyone agrees on the plan, or has stopped arguing about it.
- alignment
- agreement
- Everyone agreeing on the same goal, at least on paper.
- all hands
- company meeting
- The whole company in one meeting, usually because something is being announced.
- always be closing
- keep selling
- The sales motto that every conversation should push toward a sale.
- ARR
- yearly subscription income
- Annual recurring revenue: what subscriptions bring in over a year.
- ASAP
- now
- As soon as possible, which usually means now.
- async
- not at the same time
- Work done by message and documents, with no meeting needed.
- @channel
- notify everyone
- A chat mention that pings everyone in the channel at once.
- at the end of the day
- ultimately
- Ultimately, once everything is taken into account.
- at your earliest convenience
- now, please
- As soon as you can, which usually means today.
- Attn
- for the eyes of
- Attention: names who a letter, parcel or email is meant for.
- AWOL
- missing
- Absent without leave: gone, and nobody approved it.
From the end: U to Z. After A: B. All letters: corporate jargon.