What Is an AI Agent? The Definition

An AI agent is a system where AI dynamically directs its own processes and tool usage, maintaining control over how it accomplishes tasks.

Anthropic's definition above captures it pretty well. And this is a question I get a lot.

That word "dynamically" is everything. It's the difference between following a recipe and being a chef. It separates the agent from chatbots and copilots by enabling autonomy and action.

The Core Difference

Not an Agent: You ask a chatbot to summarize the quarterly sales and it prints them to your screen. When you ask it to send it to your collague, it apologises for not being able to do that.

Not an Agent: You tell a agentic process the steps it needs to take in order to analyze quarterly sales data. It fetches them according to your instructions, does the defined analysis and sends them where you have defined. You ask it to compare it with previous quarter and it freezes.

Real Agent: You ask an AI agent to analyze sales data. It decides which data sources to examine, what timeframes matter, which metrics to compare, identifies anomalies you didn't ask about, and determines the best way to present its findings. It asks you for more detailed information and digs deeper into insights that interest you. When you see something it missed, you ask it to improve and it will.

You tell it what you want to achieve, not how to achieve it.

One needs instructions. The other figures it out.

One is a one trick pony. The other solves varying problems using varying tools and data sources.

One gives out what it wants. The other complements the user's expertise.

That's it. That's what makes something an AI agent. You tell it what you want to achieve, not how to achieve it. (You need to give it enough guidance of course. And the tools, you need to hand in the tools. It's never that simple.)

What This Looks Like in Practice

Think of it like asking someone to get coffee. You don't need to say "walk to the kitchen, grab a mug from the cupboard, pour coffee in the mug..." You just say "bring me some coffee" and they figure out the steps. Add "two sugars", and they disgruntly return to the kitchen, but they know what it means.

That's exactly how AI agents work. When you tell an agent "analyse the status of this shipment," you don't spell out every step. The agent reasons what is an shipment, where to get it's data, what checks are relevant and what needs to be done for different statuses. It might ask you clarifying questions or need instructions to improve the end result - but that's why you're there, you're the expert afterall. You're not the expert in reading a spreadsheet. Instead your an expert on understanding what is relevant of the information on the spreadsheet. Agents put the user's expertice is in the focus.

What does this mean for your business? Increasingly flexible process supporting tools complementing employees exprtise. Using the same tools, spreadsheets, instructions and database as always. Internal and external data sources and tools. You're not programming workflows anymore. You're delegating outcomes.

The Outcome

Software that needs instructions saves time. Software that figures things out supercharges productivity.

At Des Train AI, we focus on genuine AI agents for real business processes. The kind that dynamically control their own processes to achieve your goals. The kind that actually figure things out. Using your existing tools and infrastructure. Complementing your team's expertise.

Is your business ready for AI that doesn't just assist but actually does?

Ready to see what real AI agents can accomplish? Contact us to explore the possibilities.

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Jonas Pomoell is the founder and AI business consultant at Des Train AI Oy, specializing in deploying transformative generative AI solutions. With deep expertise in AI-driven business automation, Jonas helps companies unlock productivity and growth through advanced, practical AI agent implementations.