Why Agents Need Tools › Glossary

Tool: An external function, API, or service that an AI agent can call to perform specific tasks beyond text generation, such as calculations, data retrieval, or taking actions in the world.

Hallucination: When a language model generates plausible-sounding but incorrect information, typically because it's trying to answer a question outside its training data or capabilities.

Deterministic: Producing the same output given the same input every time. Tools are typically deterministic (a calculator always returns the same result for the same calculation), while language models are not (they may generate different responses to the same prompt).

Ground Truth: Factual, verifiable information from a reliable source. Tools provide ground truth (like the actual temperature from a weather API) versus the model's approximations or guesses.

Tool-Augmented Agent: An AI agent that has access to external tools to extend its capabilities beyond pure language generation, allowing it to perform calculations, retrieve current information, and take actions.