What AI Agents Actually Are and How They Differ From Chatbots

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AI agents are software systems designed to pursue goals autonomously by breaking tasks into steps, selecting tools, and adjusting their approach based on results. Unlike standard chatbots that simply respond to prompts, agents operate in a continuous loop of planning, acting, observing, and refining until a task is complete. They can access a range of tools such as file editors, search engines, APIs, and terminal commands, enabling them to move beyond generating text to taking real actions. A coding agent, for instance, can inspect a project, modify files, run tests, and correct errors across multiple iterations without human prompting at each step. This task-centered design makes AI agents suited for complex, multi-step workflows that go well beyond the scope of conversational AI.

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ProgrammingDEV Community ·

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ProgrammingDEV Community ·

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