Concept dictionary
AI Agent
An AI agent is a software system that uses a model to choose and carry out multiple steps toward a goal, often by observing state, using tools, and adapting its next action.
- Review state
- Reviewed in POC
- Freshness
- Current
- Version
- 2
Also called
- AI Agent
- Agentic AI
Remember it this wayA chatbot answers; an agent can continue and act.
In plain language
Instead of answering once, an agent may plan, call software tools, inspect results, update its working state, and continue until it reaches a stopping condition or requires human input.
Why it matters
Multi-step action expands both usefulness and risk. Teams need explicit permissions, boundaries, checkpoints, observability, ownership, and reliable stopping and rollback paths.
Example
An agent reviews a support queue, drafts responses from approved sources, creates proposed ticket updates, and pauses for a person before anything is sent.
Common misconception
Agent does not mean fully autonomous, conscious, or trustworthy. Many useful agents operate within narrow tasks and frequent human gates.
Related terms
Sources
- NIST NCCoE, Accelerating the Adoption of Software and Artificial Intelligence Agent Identity and Authorizationofficial concept paper defining AI agents and examining their authority, identity, and access risks.
Learn more
- Define action boundaries with [[human-ownership|Human Ownership]] and [[state-transition-protocol|State Transition Protocol]].