Definitions of an AI agent

What's an agent

Core characteristics

Autonomy. Acts without human intervention.

Goal-directed behavior. Works towards objectives.

Environmental perception. Uses sensors/APIs/text input/cameras/whatever

Capability. It can impact its environment.

Learning and adaptation. Many agents improve their performance over time.

> An agent, on the other hand, wraps around the LLM and provides structure: memory, tools, goals, and an execution loop. It can decide what to do, when, and how. A chatbot that only responds to questions is a function. An agent might take a vague request like "Plan my weekend" and orchestrate searches, preferences, and reservations autonomously. The difference lies in the system's ability to initiate and coordinate. (source)