What does an AI agent actually do?
It receives a task, looks at the available information and chooses a permitted next action. That might mean reading an order, asking a question or drafting an answer. You decide which actions it is allowed to take.
Four things to understand first
Model: the language system that interprets the request and prepares an answer.
Instructions: the job description and boundaries you give it.
Tools: connections that let it do something, such as read an approved catalogue.
Checks: rules that decide whether the result is usable or needs a person.
Use a workflow when the steps are fixed
A form that always adds a row to a spreadsheet does not need an agent. An agent becomes useful when it must choose between permitted actions based on the request. A chatbot is a conversation interface; it may or may not contain an agent.
Your first exercise
Choose one task you repeat. Complete these four sentences:
I want help with: … The assistant may read: … It must never do: … A person must approve: …
Example: prepare replies to product enquiries; read our catalogue; never invent a price; a person approves every message.
What success looks like
You can explain the task and boundaries without using technical jargon. You can name an example that should work and one that should stop for review.