AI agent
An AI model that can take actions to finish a task, not just answer a question.
A chat assistant answers and stops. An AI agent is given a goal and works towards it in steps. It decides what to do next, uses software tools, checks the result and carries on. It stops when the task is done or it needs help. The model is the brain; the agent is the brain plus hands.
Think of it as
Like the difference between asking a colleague for advice and asking them to sort the problem out for you.
Example
Ask a chat assistant for flights to Delhi and it lists options. Ask a travel agent built on AI and it searches, compares prices, holds a seat and emails you the booking to approve.
Ideas that use this term
- Google's open-source AI phone tester for Android app teams
- Microsoft's free test kit for choosing the AI model behind an agent
- Nvidia's Nemotron Lightning and Switchyard: free tools for companies running AI agents
- OpenAPPA: an open-source gate that stops AI agents leaking sensitive data
- Google's Mantis: an open AI toolkit that finds and fixes security bugs