---
term: "Explainability"
category: "Evidence and audit"
url: https://agenticopenfinance.com/glossary/explainability
source: AgenticOpenFinance glossary
---

# Explainability

> The degree to which the mechanisms behind an AI system's output can be described in terms people understand.

In NIST's AI Risk Management Framework, explainability refers to a representation of the mechanisms underlying an AI system's operation, while interpretability refers to the meaning of its output in the context of its purpose, and both are listed among the characteristics of trustworthy AI. In finance, explanation duties also come from law, such as the obligation to give applicants specific reasons for adverse credit decisions. For agents, a useful explanation covers what the agent did, on what authority, using which data, and why it chose that action.

Related terms: [Adverse action notice](https://agenticopenfinance.com/glossary/adverse-action-notice.md), [AI Risk Management Framework](https://agenticopenfinance.com/glossary/ai-risk-management-framework.md), [Audit trail](https://agenticopenfinance.com/glossary/audit-trail.md), [Automated individual decision-making](https://agenticopenfinance.com/glossary/automated-individual-decision.md)