Natural Language Processing (NLP) is a field of artificial intelligence that focuses on the interaction between computers and humans through natural language. It enables machines to understand, interpret, and respond to human language in a valuable way, making it possible for applications like chatbots and language translation services to function effectively. NLP combines linguistics, computer science, and machine learning to analyze and generate human language. By utilizing algorithms and models, NLP can process vast amounts of text data, allowing for tasks such as sentiment analysis and information extraction, which are essential in various industries, including healthcare and finance.