AI Glossary
What it means, why it matters to your business, and where it shows up in a real build decision.
In plain terms
An AI agent is software that plans and takes actions toward a goal, calling tools and other systems, rather than only answering a single question. Agents move AI from advice to action, like processing a refund end to end. That power raises the stakes, so they need clear limits and human oversight on consequential steps.
A chatbot is a knowledgeable receptionist who answers questions. An AI agent is a contractor who takes the brief, makes the calls, fills the forms, and reports back with the completed job.
A logistics firm deploys an AI agent that monitors inbound customer emails, classifies the issue, retrieves order status from the warehouse system, and drafts a resolution, all without a human on standard cases.
When a task has multiple distinct steps, requires external systems, and the steps are defined well enough that errors carry limited risk or can be caught before they propagate.
For tasks that touch high-stakes irreversible actions, when the failure modes are not well understood, or when the workflow varies too much for the agent to navigate reliably.
Related reading
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