What Is an AI Agent? › Why "Agent" Matters

You might be wondering: why do we need a special term? Isn't this just a fancy chatbot with extra features?

The distinction matters because agents represent a fundamental shift in how we interact with AI. Chatbots are reactive: they respond to what you say. Agents are proactive: they work toward goals you set. This shift changes how we design AI systems and put them to work. Agents need to be more reliable (because they're taking real actions), more transparent (so you can see what they're doing), and more carefully controlled (so they don't do things you didn't intend).