# Chain-of-Thought

> A step-by-step reasoning process used internally or externally to improve complex problem solving.

- Category: Reasoning & Inference
- Stage: Established
- Also called: CoT, Reasoning trace
- Canonical: https://www.joelcsaji.com/ai-dictionary/chain-of-thought

## Plain English

The model works through the problem instead of jumping straight to the answer.

## Example

A math model decomposes a problem into substeps before calculating the final value.

## Why it matters

CoT remains influential, though many products now expose summaries rather than raw hidden reasoning.

## Related

- [Reasoning Model](https://www.joelcsaji.com/ai-dictionary/reasoning-model)
- [Trace](https://www.joelcsaji.com/ai-dictionary/trace)
- [Self-Reflection](https://www.joelcsaji.com/ai-dictionary/self-reflection)

## Sources

- [Google Cloud Generative AI Glossary](https://docs.cloud.google.com/docs/generative-ai/glossary)
- [Stanford HAI: 2026 AI Index](https://hai.stanford.edu/ai-index/2026-ai-index-report)