What does algorithmically mean?
Algorithmically is an adverb describing actions performed by means of an algorithm — a precise, step-by-step procedure that a computer can execute. To say something was done algorithmically is to say it was determined by a systematic computational process rather than by human discretion, intuition, or chance. The word appears most often in technology contexts: content may be ranked algorithmically, images may be generated algorithmically, prices may be set algorithmically, and risks may be assessed algorithmically. Because so much modern life — from search results to credit decisions to social media feeds — is shaped this way, the adverb has become a staple of both technical writing and mainstream journalism. It often carries a subtly impersonal, even disquieting connotation, since algorithmic decisions can feel opaque and unaccountable compared with human ones. For anyone discussing automation, artificial intelligence, or data-driven systems, algorithmically is an essential and precise term.
adverbIn a manner relating to or by means of an algorithm; carried out or determined through a step-by-step computational procedure.
- By means of, or in accordance with, an algorithm (a finite step-by-step computational procedure).
"The search results were ranked algorithmically rather than curated by human editors."
"The thumbnails were selected algorithmically based on each viewer's watch history."
"The committee rejected the proposal because the scores had been assigned algorithmically, with no human oversight."
Every time a feed decides what you see next, it's choosing for you algorithmically — the word literally names the invisible hand behind your screen.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of algorithmically
The word derives from algorithm, which traces back through Latin algorismus to the name of the ninth-century Persian mathematician Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī, whose writings on arithmetic with Hindu-Arabic numerals gave Europe the term. In medieval Latin, algorismus referred to decimal calculation; over time the meaning broadened to any well-defined computational procedure, and the spelling shifted under the influence of Greek arithmos ('number'). The adjective algorithmic emerged in the twentieth century alongside computer science, and the adverb algorithmically followed as its natural derivative. Cognates include logarithm, which shares the same Greek arithmos element but has a distinct root.
Related word forms
How algorithmically is actually used
Register is technical-to-neutral; common in computing, data science, journalism about technology, and discussions of social media and AI. It carries a slightly impersonal connotation, often invoked when contrasting machine decisions with human judgment.
Easily confused with algorithmically
Arithmetically refers to calculation using basic arithmetic, while algorithmically refers to execution of an algorithm — a defined step-by-step procedure that may involve far more than simple arithmetic.