ITG NowHome › AI glossary › Quantization
What is Quantization?
Short answer
Quantization is a trick that shrinks an AI model by storing its numbers in a simpler, rougher form.
- Category Models
- Also called quantized, quantised, quantisation
- Updated 20 Oct 2026
Quantization, explained simply
Model files can be huge. Quantization rounds the numbers so the file takes less space and memory.
You lose a little accuracy, but the model runs faster and fits on a normal computer.
It is like saving a photo as a smaller file. It looks almost the same, but it loads quicker.
On ITG Now, our free tool guides often point to quantized models that fit on a regular laptop.
Related terms
Model weightsLocal AIVRAMSmall language modelOllamaDistillation
Questions people ask about Quantization
Does quantization make a model worse?
A little, usually. Light quantization is often hard to notice, and heavy quantization can hurt quality.
Why do local AI tools use quantized models?
They need less memory, so more people can run them on home computers.