Glossary
AI Agent
Definition
An AI agent is a piece of software that can take actions to complete a task — looking up data, calling tools, and working through multiple steps — rather than only answering a question.
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Key points
- A chatbot replies with text; an agent actually does the work — checks a record, updates a system, sends the follow-up.
- It decides which step comes next based on what it finds, so it can handle tasks that aren't perfectly scripted.
- Reliable agents are scoped to a clear job with defined tools and success criteria, and escalate to a human when unsure.
- "AI agent" is the single worker; Agentic AI is the broader design approach of goal-driven, action-taking software.
Quick answer
AI Agent — common question
An AI agent is a specific piece of software that takes actions to finish a task. Agentic AI is the broader concept — the approach of building software that reasons, plans, and acts toward a goal. An agent is one instance of that idea in practice.
For low-risk, well-defined tasks, yes. For anything involving money, compliance, or customer commitments, the reliable pattern is a semi-autonomous agent that handles the routine work and hands off to a human for the calls that need judgment.
From concept to working product.
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