What an AI agent actually is (and what it isn't)

A chatbot answers. An agent acts: it has a goal, tools it's allowed to use (your email, calendar, CRM), and it loops — try, check the result, adjust — until the job is done or it needs you.

That loop is the whole magic. "Answer this email" is one step; an agent handles "watch the inbox, answer what you can, escalate what you can't, log everything" — indefinitely.

What agents are not:

• Not magic — an agent with bad instructions does bad work tirelessly.
• Not autonomous businessmen — they need defined goals and boundaries.
• Not all-or-nothing — the best deployments automate one workflow at a time.

When a vendor says "agent", ask: what tools does it use, what does it do when unsure, and can I read a log of its actions? Real agents have real answers to all three.