AI Agents

ELI5 (Explain like I am 5)

Imagine you are using a tool like ChatGPT. If you ask it where to order a sandwich from, it will give you a list of restaurants, but you have to call the restaurant and place the order yourself. 

An AI agent on the other hand will select a restaurant, go to the restaurant website or call them, place an order for a sandwich. So you don't have to do anything, except stating your wish! 

What is an AI Agent?

An AI agent is an intelligent assistant that doesn't just answer your questions and stop. It actually gets things done on its own.

While a standard Large Language Model (LLM) responds to a prompt and stops, an agent can sense its environment, reason about the next step, and take action.

Example:

When you give an agent a task like "plan a holiday to Switzerland from Jan 15-25", the agent doesn't just search the internet and give suggestions. It uses its LLM to understand what you need, then it searches the internet for options. It visits a few websites, and checks the hotel reviews to see if they are good. Here it uses its memory and decision-making abilities.

Then it clicks a link on booking.com or others based on your instructions, finds hotels and flights as per your requirements, and gives you a complete itinerary. For this, it connects to booking.com via its API.

Components of an AI Agent

An agent typically consists of three components:

1. The "brain", basically the LLM.
2. Memory to remember what it has already done.
3. Tools, like APIs or software with which it can interact with the environment and perform actions.

Difference Between Agentic AI and AI Agents

These terms are used interchangeably, but they are not exactly the same.

• AI Agents are the software entities or bots that perform the work. An agent is the individual unit designed to handle a role, such as a Coding Agent or a Research Agent.

• Agentic AI refers to the behavior of the system. If an AI is given the freedom to iterate, check its response, cross-check and redo its tasks in a loop, it is called an Agentic AI.