AI CONCEPTS
AI Agent
Also known as: Autonomous Agent, Agentic AI
Definition
An AI Agent is an autonomous system that can perceive its environment, make decisions, and take actions to achieve goals. Unlike simple chatbots, agents use tools, remember context, and work toward objectives through multiple steps.
Simple Explanation
If a chatbot is a single barista who answers one question at a time, an AI agent is a project manager with a team. It can break down 'build me a website' into tasks, use a coding tool, run tests, check if the result works, and iterate — all without human intervention.
Real-World Use Case
A developer gives an AI agent the goal 'fix all TypeScript errors in the auth module.' The agent reads the codebase, identifies errors, generates fixes, runs the type checker, and commits successful changes.
Examples
Related Terms
Learn More
- Stanford Index — AI Agents
- LangChain Agent Documentation