AI training data is the collection of examples a machine learning model learns from. For a language model that means text, code and conversations; for a robot it means video and sensor readings paired with actions. The model adjusts itself until its outputs match the patterns in those examples.
Why it matters when licensing company data
Public web text was the first large source. Labs now also pay for records that only exist inside companies, such as support tickets, engineering history, call recordings and work footage, because those show how real work gets done and cannot be scraped.
For a company, the practical question is which of its records could serve as training data, who owns them and what has to be removed first. The guide to AI training data and the list of record types buyers ask for cover both.
Source
Google Machine Learning Glossary: training set. Definition reviewed November 7, 2026 by Origin Data Partners.