AI Agent

An AI agent is an AI system that can take actions autonomously to complete a goal — not just generate text, but actually do things. Browsing websites, writing and executing code, managing files, sending messages, filling forms, calling APIs. An agent operates in a loop: it receives a task, makes a plan, takes an action, observes the result, and decides what to do next — repeating until the task is complete or it needs human input.

AI agents are the technology underlying tools like Claude Code and Claude Cowork. They represent a significant capability jump from conversational AI because they can complete entire workflows, not just respond to individual prompts.