What is an AI agent?

An AI agent is a program that doesn't just answer questions — it takes actions to reach a goal you give it.

A helper that can actually do things

A chatbot replies with words. An agent can use tools: search the web, run code, send an email, move a robot. You give it a goal, and it figures out the steps.

The loop every agent runs

• Think — what should I do next to reach the goal?
• Act — use a tool to do it
• Check — did that work? If not, try again

Try it yourself

Pick a tiny goal, like "make a list of 5 fun science facts." Write down the think → act → check steps a helper would take. Congratulations — you just designed an agent.