What is AI Agent?
An autonomous AI system that takes actions on your behalf to accomplish a goal.
Definition
An AI agent is a software system that can perceive its environment, reason about a goal, and take actions to achieve it — including calling external tools, reading data, sending messages, and running code. Unlike a chatbot that responds to a single prompt, an agent can plan multiple steps, use tools iteratively, and run on a schedule without human input for each action.
Example
A sales pipeline agent connects to HubSpot, identifies deals with no activity in 7 days, and posts a daily alert to Slack — all without anyone manually triggering it.
AI Agent vs chatbot: What's the difference?
An autonomous AI system that takes actions on your behalf to accomplish a goal.
A chatbot responds to your prompts. An agent acts on your behalf without being prompted for each step.