What is an AI Agent?
An AI agent is an autonomous system that can perceive its environment, process information, make decisions, and take actions to achieve specific goals. Unlike simple chatbots, agents can use tools, maintain state, and operate with greater independence.
Agent Characteristics
Autonomy Operates independently once given objectives.
Reactivity Responds to environmental changes.
Proactivity Takes initiative toward goals.
Social Ability Interacts with other agents/systems.
Agent Architectures
ReAct (Reason + Act) Interleaves reasoning and actions.
Plan-and-Execute Creates plan, then executes steps.
Reflexion Self-reflects to improve.
Multi-Agent Multiple agents collaborate.
Agent Components
- Language Model (reasoning)
- Tools/Functions (actions)
- Memory (context)
- Planning (strategy)
- Observation (feedback)
Use Cases
- Customer service automation
- Code generation and debugging
- Research and analysis
- Task automation
- Personal assistants
Challenges
- Reliability and consistency
- Error handling
- Cost management
- Safety and alignment
- Evaluation metrics