Table of Contents
If you’re a developer who wants to learn what an AI agent is in an easy way, this article is for you.
What is an AI Agent?
Consider yourself as an AI Agent who has a brain and a few senses through which you collect data or interact with the environment.
Then your brain processes these data, and you perform some actions with your tools like arms, hands, and legs, etc.
AI agents are just like humans…

How Does an AI Agent Work?
AI agents have GenAI as their brain and collect data from the environment, process that data, make decisions, and take actions through tools.
For example:
- If you have used ChatGPT, you would be familiar with its web search feature. Now, you can consider it as an agent.
- ChatGPT is an agent that has GenAI as its brain and a web search API as a tool.
- When you make a request to ChatGPT, it processes the data, makes a decision to use the web search tool, retrieves data from the web, processes it again, and then provides the result to you.
What is Tool?
Tools are the core of an AI agent. Tools are the predefined functions that your agent can call.
The agent’s brain decides which tool to use and generates a response to call the tool.
For example:
- Let’s say your function is
web_search
, and the agent’s brain returns a structured response instructing you to call theweb_search
function. - You will call it and return the response to the model (the agent’s brain). The agent will then return the response to the user.

Real-World Use Case of an AI Agent
- Agent helping you with the web searches.
- Agent autonomously making posts on social media.
- Agent interacting with customers as a customer service agent and resolving their issues.
Summary
- An AI agent is a system that uses GenAI as its brain to collect data from the environment, process it, and take actions through predefined tools.
- For instance, ChatGPT is an AI agent that uses a web search API as a tool to provide responses.
- Tools are the functions an agent can use, with the agent’s brain deciding which tool to call.
- Real-world examples include agents helping with web searches, posting on social media, or handling customer service.