What is AI agent?

An AI agent combines a language model with tools and a loop: it reads a goal, decides on the next step, uses a tool, looks at the result and continues until the goal is met or it needs help. In software engineering, typical tools are the code base, a terminal, a browser and the team's ticketing and source-control systems.

What makes something an agent

• It works towards a goal over several steps, not a single response.
• It can act through tools, not only produce text.
• It adapts its plan based on what it observes along the way.

Agents are only as safe and useful as the permissions, instructions and checks around them, which is why enterprise adoption is as much about design as about models.