An AI agent is a system that thinks, decides, and acts on its own to reach a goal.
Unlike a chatbot that just responds to prompts, an agent plans its moves. It can use tools. It remembers past interactions. It adjusts when things don’t work.
In other words: a chatbot is like someone reading from a script. An agent is like someone who figures out what to do next based on what’s happening right now.
The key difference is autonomy. Agents don’t just react. They reason about problems, break them into steps, and execute solutions.