AI agent

An AI agent is a system that, given a goal, plans and carries out on its own the steps needed to reach it, instead of only answering a question. Built on a language model, it can break a task into subtasks, use external tools —searching the web, reading files, sending emails or calling other programs— and decide the next step based on the results it gets. For example, given "book me a cheap flight on Friday," an agent would search options, compare them and prepare the booking. It is one of the most active directions in current AI ✕ Artificial intelligence is a computer system’s ability to perform tasks we associate with human intelligence, such as understanding language, recognizing images or making decisions. More in the glossary → , with strong potential to automate workflows. It also carries risks: because it acts autonomously, it needs clear limits and oversight, especially when it handles data or money.