Short answer
An AI agent is software that uses an AI model to reach a goal in several steps. Instead of answering once, it decides what to do next, uses tools such as web search, files or other apps, looks at the result and continues until the task is done or it needs a person. A chatbot answers; an agent acts.
What makes software an agent
- A goal, not just a question: find ten venues, fix this bug, write the report.
- Tools it can call: search, read and write files, use apps, run code, use a browser.
- A loop: plan, act, check the result, decide the next step.
- A point where it stops: the task is done, it hit a limit, or it needs a person's decision.
Example
Ask a chatbot for a list of design studios and it answers from what it already knows. Give the same task to an agent and it searches the web, opens each studio's site, checks the prices, writes a table and tells you which two it could not confirm.
In BusyBee.Day, agents are called bots. You assign them tasks like you would assign a colleague, and they report back in the task.
Questions and answers
Are AI agents safe to use?
They are as safe as the permissions you give them. Good agent tools let you approve risky actions, limit which apps an agent can use and stop it at any time.
What is the difference between an AI agent and an AI assistant?
The words overlap. An assistant usually means something you talk to; an agent usually means something that carries out a task on its own, step by step.