# Introduction
# Where does Clinc come in?
In the process of delivering high quality conversational AI to end users, Clinc provides the crucial components of Natural Language Understanding (NLU), Natural Language Processing (NLP), and Natural Language Generation (NLG). Once an utterance from a user is converted into text, our AI engine interprets what the user is asking or trying to accomplish. Our AI engine then calls on the appropriate third parties (such as an external database) to help provide the necessary data to help get the user an answer or carry out an action. Because we are ASR (automatic speech recognition)-agnostic, we can be connected to any device whether it be mobile, web app, or a smart speaker.
# What this Reference covers
This Reference helps you to learn about how to use the Clinc AI Platform at any point you might have a question. It illustrates from both conceptual and practical perspectives how the AI engine works and how you can utilize different features to design a conversational AI that best suits your design and your end users’ expectation.
For a more hands-on learning experience, follow the Starter Guide to build a financial assistant end-to-end.
Last updated: 02/15/2019