AI Agent
Definition
An AI agent is an AI system that acts rather than only answers: it takes a goal, decides on steps, calls tools and other systems, and executes work such as sending messages, updating records or triggering workflows, with varying degrees of human oversight.
The distinction from a chatbot is consequence. A chatbot produces text a human then acts on. An agent acts directly: reads the inbox, drafts and sends the reply, updates the CRM, schedules the follow-up. That is what makes agents valuable and what makes them a governance object.
In practice a business accumulates agents from four directions: built by its own engineers, bought as products, embedded inside SaaS it already owns, and wired up personally by employees. Each is an actor in your systems, which is why the register matters more than the demo.
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