However, in the films Terminator Genisys and Terminator: Dark Fate, reveal that, if allowed to, they actually can adapt behaviors like humans', either by choice or for infiltrations even in earlier film Terminator 2: Judgment Day had implied that they have such ability. Being machines, it is typically believed by humans that they are incapable of behavioral responses such as emotions. Terminators can speak naturally, copy the voices of others, read and write human handwriting, and even sweat, smell, bleed, and age. The lineup begins with metallic endoskeletons covered in rubber skin, later replaced with synthetic human flesh, and then developed prototypes with mimetic polyalloy, able to mimic any person or object. Some Terminator models are designed to masquerade as humans in order to infiltrate their bases and habitats. Other supercomputers with the same goal include The Turk / 'John Henry' and Legion, respectively competing with Skynet in the television series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and the film Terminator: Dark Fate, both of which take place in alternate timelines.

In the Terminator multiverse, a Terminator is a cyborg assassin and soldier, designed for infiltration and combat duty, used by the military supercomputer Skynet toward the ultimate goal of exterminating the Human Resistance. Cyberdyne Systems sign at the T2-3D: Battle Across Time ride.

Terminator 3 deleted scene