AI model
An AI model is the trained result of machine learning: a file of learned numbers plus the code that uses them to turn an input (a question, a photo) into an output (an answer, a label). Apps like chatbots are built on top of one or more models.
In one line, for a 12-year-old
A model is the "brain file" an AI app uses, made by training it on lots of examples.
An example
GPT, Claude and Gemini are families of models; ChatGPT, Claude.ai and the Gemini app are the products you use to talk to them.
Why it matters to people
The same model can sit behind many apps. Knowing which model a service uses, and who made it, tells you whose rules and data practices apply.