AI Agent

An AI agent pairs a language model with access to tools such as a database, a search function, a calendar or an inbox, plus the ability to decide on its own which tool it needs next. Instead of a single question-and-answer exchange, the agent works toward a goal over multiple steps, checks intermediate results and adjusts what it does next accordingly. That sets it apart from a plain chatbot, which only formulates text but never takes action.

In practice this might look like: an agent is asked to review open orders, calls an inventory system, notices a missing item, drafts a follow-up email and creates a calendar entry to track it — all without a person triggering each individual step. Between steps sits an actual tool call with a real, checkable result, not just generated text.

The limiting factor is exactly that an agent acts rather than only answering. A misread intermediate step can carry through to the next one, and unlike a plain text reply, a mistake here has a real effect — a wrongly sent email, or a record changed incorrectly. The more room to act an agent gets, the more important clear limits on what it may do without approval become.