responds to an input
- Conversation-oriented
- single response
- usually no process responsibility
AI Agents
AI agents that do more than answer. They work through tasks.
An AI agent pursues a defined objective, plans work steps, uses approved tools and escalates under clear rules.
Chatbot or agent? The difference is action.
A chatbot typically responds to an input. An agent can turn an objective into several steps, obtain information, invoke functions and review intermediate results. That ability to act needs explicit boundaries.
Building blocks of a production agent.
The design follows the task, its risk and the existing systems.
- role and objective
- approved tools and interfaces
- bounded working context and memory
- enterprise knowledge with source context
- permissions
- human approval
- traceable handovers
Autonomy needs boundaries.
Roles, permissions, allowed actions, stop conditions and escalation paths are defined before use. Critical decisions remain with accountable people.
Chatbot vs. Agent
Answering is not the same as acting.
works towards an objective
- plans work steps
- uses approved functions
- checks and escalates
Which process should work better in your organisation?
We begin with the work, the people and the current process — then assess which form of AI genuinely makes sense.