Agent
An AI system that autonomously plans and executes multi-step tasks using tools and environment feedback.
Full Definition
An AI agent is a system where a language model acts as the reasoning core, perceiving its environment, planning a sequence of actions, executing those actions using tools (web search, code execution, file operations, APIs), and updating its plan based on results — all with minimal human intervention per step. Agents differ from standard chatbots in their autonomy, multi-step planning, and ability to take actions with real-world consequences. Effective agent design requires careful tool definition, reliable memory management, error recovery, and safety constraints to prevent unintended actions. Agents are the dominant paradigm for automating complex knowledge work with LLMs.
Examples
A coding agent receiving a GitHub issue, writing a fix, running the test suite, reading the output, debugging failures, and opening a pull request — autonomously.
A research agent that searches the web, reads papers, synthesises findings, and produces a structured literature review without human step-by-step direction.
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