AI Glossary Term
What does “Intent Classification” mean?
Definition
Predicting the user's purpose from a text query to route it correctly.
How Intent Classification works
Example
A user types 'I was charged twice this month'. The system labels the intent as a billing issue and routes it to the billing team or an automated billing flow rather than a general help queue.
Why it matters
Understanding what the user wants lets assistants and support systems respond quickly and send requests to the right place. Misclassified intents frustrate users.
Common questions
Is intent classification the same as sentiment analysis?
No. Intent asks what the person wants to do; sentiment asks how they feel.
What if no intent fits?
Systems often add a fallback category and hand the conversation to a person or ask a clarifying question.
Do LLMs make it easier?
Often yes. A language model can label intents from a prompt, though teams still test accuracy on real messages.