What is an algorithm? (Explained for kids and parents)
Updated May 8, 2026 · 350 words
An algorithm is a set of step-by-step instructions for getting something done. A recipe is an algorithm. A morning routine is an algorithm. The way Spotify decides what song to play next is an algorithm — a much more complicated one. AI is built on top of algorithms.
How to explain it to a 7-year-old
🧒 "It's a recipe for the computer. Like ''to make a peanut butter sandwich: get bread, spread peanut butter, put bread on top.'' If you follow the steps, you get a sandwich. Algorithms are recipes for computers."
How to explain it to a 14-year-old
🎒 "An algorithm is a precisely defined sequence of operations that turns inputs into outputs. Sorting algorithms order lists, search algorithms find things, neural network training algorithms tune weights. ''The algorithm'' you hear about in social media context is a recommendation algorithm."
Real-world examples
- 🥪 A recipe (literal)
- 📚 The algorithm that sorts your email inbox by date
- 🎵 Spotify's "discover" recommendation algorithm
- 🚗 Google Maps' route-finding algorithm
- 🤖 ChatGPT's text-generation algorithm (= a learned algorithm)
Two important kinds of algorithms
| Hand-written algorithm | Learned algorithm (AI) | |
|---|---|---|
| Where rules come from | A human wrote them | Computer learned them from data |
| Example | Calculator, spell-check | ChatGPT, image classifier |
| When to prefer | Tasks with clear rules | Tasks with too many edge cases for rules |
Where this comes up in Chippu
Band B (b2-2, "Types of AI") explains the difference between rule-based and learned algorithms. Band D (d1-1) gets technical.
Related terms
- Machine learning — the process of learning an algorithm
- AI model — what comes out of a learning algorithm
- Neural network — a kind of learned algorithm