What is an AI agent?
An AI agent is software that uses an AI model to pursue a goal over several steps, choosing actions and calling tools such as search or code execution. Vendors use the word loosely, so ask which decisions the model makes and which are fixed in code.
The full answer
An AI agent is a software system that uses an AI model to pursue a goal over several steps, choosing actions and calling tools such as search, code execution or other applications, instead of answering a single prompt. Vendors use the word loosely, so ask which decisions the model makes and which are fixed in code.
Because an agent acts on your behalf, the controls around it matter: narrow permissions, short-lived access, and an approval gate where a person must approve consequential steps such as deleting data, sending messages, spending money or deploying code.
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